Sorayah
A girl's name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from an Arabic name meaning "heavenly" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 244 living Americans carry the first name Sorayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sorayah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sorayah births was 2011 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sorayah. 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 Sorayah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
244
~ 1 in 1,404,731 Americans
Peak year
2011
20 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,335
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Sorayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sorayah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 129 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sorayah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sorayah 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 Sorayah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sorayahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sorayah
The name Sorayah is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "suraya" which means "the Pleiades star cluster" or "brilliant." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the early Islamic period, around the 7th or 8th century CE.
Sorayah has roots in ancient Arabic culture and astronomy. The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters, held significant importance in the Arab world as a navigational aid for travelers and as a symbol of fertility and abundance. The name Sorayah was likely given to girls born under the influence of this celestial formation.
While there are no definitive historical references to the name Sorayah in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used among Arab communities during the early Islamic era. However, the earliest recorded examples of the name are relatively recent, dating back only a few centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Sorayah was Sorayah al-Kadhimiya, an Iraqi poet and scholar who lived in the late 18th century. She was renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature and her mastery of the Arabic language.
Another notable figure with the name Sorayah was Sorayah Bint Al-Mutair, a Saudi Arabian businesswoman and philanthropist who lived in the 20th century. She was known for her work in promoting women's empowerment and education in Saudi Arabia.
In more recent times, Sorayah Cherif was a Tunisian actress and dancer who gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s for her performances in Egyptian and Tunisian films. She was celebrated for her beauty and talent, and her name became synonymous with grace and elegance.
Sorayah Farouk was an Egyptian writer and journalist who lived in the late 20th century. She was a prominent figure in the Egyptian literary scene and wrote extensively on topics related to women's rights and social issues.
Sorayah Al-Moussa is a contemporary Lebanese artist and sculptor. Her works have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and she is known for her innovative use of materials and her exploration of themes related to identity and cultural heritage.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Sorayah throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultures and societies they were a part of.
People
Sorayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sorayah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sorayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sorayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 244 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sorayah 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 1,404,731 US residents.
Is Sorayah a common name?
We classify Sorayah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 246 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sorayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Sorayah was 2011, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sorayah is about 11 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 Sorayah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sorayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sorayah 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 Sorayah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sorayah 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 Sorayah 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 Sorayah?
Want to know how many people share the name Sorayah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.