Milayah
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially meaning "beautiful one".
Name Census estimates that about 274 living Americans carry the first name Milayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Milayah today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Milayah births was 2020 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Milayah. 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 Milayah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
274
~ 1 in 1,250,928 Americans
Peak year
2020
28 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,122
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Milayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Milayah 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 160 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Milayah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Milayah 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 Milayah 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 Milayah
The name Milayah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is a feminine name that is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "malaya," which means "shelter" or "refuge." This suggests that the name may have been given to girls with the hope that they would provide a sense of comfort and security to their families.
The earliest recorded use of the name Milayah can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was popular among Arab communities in the Middle East and North Africa. It is possible that the name was also used by Muslim communities in other parts of the world during this time period, as the Arabic language and culture spread through trade and conquest.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Milayah was Milayah bint al-Hasan, a prominent scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century CE in present-day Iraq. She was known for her contributions to the field of Arabic literature and was highly respected for her knowledge and intellect.
Another notable figure with the name Milayah was Milayah al-Andalusiyya, a Moorish princess who lived in the 11th century CE in what is now Spain. She was known for her beauty and grace, and her story has been the subject of numerous works of literature and art.
In the 13th century CE, there was a Sufi mystic and poet named Milayah al-Basri who hailed from the city of Basra in present-day Iraq. She was renowned for her spiritual insights and her poetic works, which explored themes of love, devotion, and the pursuit of divine knowledge.
During the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over much of the Middle East and parts of Europe from the 14th to the 20th centuries, the name Milayah was also popular among Turkish and other Muslim communities. One notable figure from this time period was Milayah Hatun, a princess and philanthropist who lived in the 16th century and was known for her charitable works and support of the arts.
In more recent times, there have been several notable figures with the name Milayah, including Milayah Zidani, a Moroccan author and activist who has written extensively on women's rights and social justice issues in the Arab world.
People
Milayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Milayah 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
Milayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Milayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 274 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Milayah 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 1,250,928 US residents.
Is Milayah a common name?
We classify Milayah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 276 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Milayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Milayah was 2020, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Milayah is about 9 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 Milayah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Milayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Milayah 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 Milayah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Milayah 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 Milayah 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 many Americans are named Milayah?
Want to know how many Americans are named Milayah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.