Meilah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "fulfillment" or "completeness".
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Meilah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meilah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meilah births was 2021 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meilah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Meilah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
2021
19 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,978
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Meilah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meilah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 89 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Meilah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meilah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Meilah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meilah
The name Meilah is of Hebrew origin, derived from the word "ma'alah" which means "transgression" or "trespass." It is believed to have originated in ancient Judaic culture, dating back to the biblical era.
Meilah is mentioned in the Torah, specifically in the book of Leviticus, where it refers to the misuse or improper treatment of sacred objects or offerings. The name carries a sense of reverence and respect for religious traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meilah can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is mentioned in relation to discussions on the laws and regulations surrounding the handling of sacred objects.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Meilah. One such person was Meilah ben Eliezer, a renowned Jewish scholar and Rabbi who lived in the 12th century CE. He was known for his extensive knowledge of Jewish law and his contributions to the study of the Talmud.
Another prominent figure was Meilah ben Shlomo, a 13th-century Hebrew poet and philosopher from Spain. He was renowned for his works on ethics and his poetic interpretations of religious texts.
In the 16th century, Meilah ben Yitzchak was a prominent Kabbalist (a scholar of Jewish mysticism) who lived in Safed, a city in modern-day Israel. He is credited with writing several influential works on Kabbalah and its teachings.
Meilah ben Avraham was a 17th-century Rabbi and scholar from Poland. He is remembered for his expertise in Jewish law and his commentaries on the Talmud.
In more recent times, Meilah Shekhter was a 20th-century Israeli writer and poet, known for her works exploring themes of identity, culture, and the experience of Jewish immigrants in Israel.
While the name Meilah is not as common today as it once was, it holds a rich historical significance within Jewish culture and tradition, reflecting a deep respect for religious observance and the sanctity of sacred objects.
People
Meilah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meilah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Meilah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meilah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meilah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Meilah a common name?
We classify Meilah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 158 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meilah most popular?
The single biggest year for Meilah was 2021, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meilah is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Meilah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meilah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meilah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Meilah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meilah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Meilah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Meilah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.