Teliyah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "resurrected".
Name Census estimates that about 211 living Americans carry the first name Teliyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Teliyah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Teliyah births was 2011 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Teliyah. 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.
People living today
211
~ 1 in 1,624,428 Americans
Peak year
2011
17 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,443
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Teliyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Teliyah 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 92 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Teliyah 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 Teliyah 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 Teliyah
The name Teliyah is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from the Hebrew name Talia. The name Talia itself has its origins in the biblical Hebrew word "tal," meaning dew or morning dew. It is a name with roots that stretch back to ancient Semitic languages and cultures of the Middle East.
In the Bible, the word "tal" appears in several verses, often used as a metaphor for freshness, purity, and renewal. For example, in the Song of Songs, it is written, "Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether." (Song of Songs 2:17) The reference to the dew-covered mountains is seen as a poetic expression of love and beauty.
While the name Talia has a long history, the variant spelling Teliyah is much more recent. It is likely a modern invention, perhaps created by parents seeking a unique twist on the traditional Hebrew name. The earliest recorded instances of the name Teliyah are from the late 20th century.
Despite its modern origins, the name Teliyah has been adopted by a handful of notable individuals throughout the world. One of the earliest recorded examples is Teliyah Mizrahi, an Israeli singer and actress born in 1979. She has released several successful albums and appeared in various television shows in Israel.
Another notable Teliyah is Teliyah Perkins, an American basketball player who competed in the WNBA and overseas leagues in the early 2000s. Born in 1979, she played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University before being drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2002.
In the world of literature, Teliyah Jacobs is an author and poet from South Africa. She has published several collections of poetry and short stories, exploring themes of identity, culture, and social justice. Jacobs was born in 1982 and continues to write and perform her works.
Teliyah Asmah is a Malaysian academic and linguist, specializing in the study of Malay and other Austronesian languages. Born in 1940, she has authored numerous books and articles on linguistics and language preservation.
Lastly, Teliyah Avrahami is an Israeli artist and sculptor, known for her works in metal and stone. Born in 1965, her sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and public spaces throughout Israel and abroad.
While the name Teliyah may be a modern invention, its roots in the ancient Hebrew language and its connection to themes of purity and renewal have allowed it to resonate with diverse communities and cultures around the world.
People
Teliyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Teliyah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Teliyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Teliyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Teliyah 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 1,624,428 US residents.
Is Teliyah a common name?
We classify Teliyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 213 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Teliyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Teliyah was 2011, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Teliyah is about 16 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 Teliyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Teliyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Teliyah 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 Teliyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Teliyah 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 Teliyah 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 Teliyah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.