Yariah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly combining elements meaning "exalted" and "God."
Name Census estimates that about 203 living Americans carry the first name Yariah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yariah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yariah births was 2024 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yariah. 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
203
~ 1 in 1,688,445 Americans
Peak year
2024
33 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,366
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Yariah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yariah 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 94 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yariah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yariah 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 Yariah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yariahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yariah
The name Yariah is believed to have its origins in the ancient Hebrew language, dating back to the biblical era. It is thought to be a variant of the Hebrew name Yair, which means "he will enlighten" or "he will give light." This name is rooted in the Hebrew word "or," meaning "light."
In the Old Testament, Yair is mentioned as a descendant of the tribe of Manasseh and a judge who governed Israel for 22 years. The name Yariah may have emerged as a feminine form of this name, although its exact derivation and meaning are not entirely clear.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yariah can be found in a 12th-century Jewish text called the "Sefer Ha-Yashar" (Book of the Upright), which recounts the stories of biblical figures. In this text, Yariah is listed as the name of a woman who lived during the time of the Exodus from Egypt.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Yariah. In the 16th century, Yariah ben Shlomo was a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Safed, Palestine. He wrote extensively on Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism.
In the 18th century, Yariah Yitzhak Halevi was a prominent rabbi and Talmudic scholar who served as the chief rabbi of Izmir, Turkey. He was known for his extensive commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, a influential work of Jewish law.
In the 20th century, Yariah Cohen was an Israeli writer and poet who was born in Jerusalem in 1924. She published several collections of poetry and was awarded the prestigious Bialik Prize for her literary contributions.
Another notable figure with the name Yariah was Yariah Amit, an Israeli archaeologist and researcher born in 1945. She specialized in the study of ancient Near Eastern cultures and made significant contributions to the understanding of the biblical period through her excavations and publications.
Lastly, Yariah Naveh was an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset (parliament) who served from 1977 to 1981. She was involved in various social and educational initiatives and advocated for the rights of women and minority groups in Israel.
People
Yariah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yariah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yariah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yariah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 203 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yariah 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 1,688,445 US residents.
Is Yariah a common name?
We classify Yariah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 205 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yariah most popular?
The single biggest year for Yariah was 2024, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yariah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yariah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yariah 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.
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.