Akilah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "wise" or "intelligent".
Name Census estimates that about 2,877 living Americans carry the first name Akilah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Akilah today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akilah births was 1993 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akilah. 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 Akilah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,136 Americans
Peak year
1993
115 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,955
Tracked since 1972
Census
Akilah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,545 people with the first name Akilah, which placed it at #6,336 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,336
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,545 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Akilah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akilah is Black at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and White (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Akilah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Akilah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.0% · 2,214
- Two or more races5.6% · 143
- White3.0% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Popularity
Akilah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akilah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 874 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akilah 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 Akilah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Akilahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Akilah, while Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 80 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akilah
The name Akilah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "aqeel" or "aqilah," which means intelligent, wise, or rational. The name is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, as it carries a positive connotation and reflects a desirable trait.
In Islamic tradition, the name Akilah is not explicitly mentioned in religious scriptures or historical texts. However, its roots can be traced back to the Arabic language, which has had a profound influence on the cultures and societies of the Middle East and North Africa.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Akilah are found in various historical records and documents from the medieval period. One of the notable individuals bearing this name was Akilah bint al-Muhallab, a 7th-century Arab woman known for her intelligence and literary skills.
Throughout history, several influential figures have carried the name Akilah. One such person was Akilah Nuri (1903-1969), an influential Egyptian feminist and activist who played a significant role in advancing women's rights in Egypt during the 20th century.
Another notable Akilah was Akilah Oliver (1961-2011), an American poet and academic known for her experimental writing style and exploration of African-American identity and culture. Her works, such as "A Toast in the House of Bread" and "The She Ant Resurrection," received critical acclaim.
In the field of music, Akilah Hughes (born 1989) is a contemporary American comedian, writer, and YouTube personality who has gained recognition for her humorous and insightful commentary on popular culture and social issues.
Akilah Monifa (born 1970) is an American filmmaker and director who has directed several critically acclaimed documentaries, including "The Truth That Woke Me Up" and "Yes, We're Open," which explore issues of race, identity, and social justice.
Akilah Folami (born 1968) is a renowned American dancer and choreographer who has worked with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, and Erykah Badu. She is celebrated for her innovative choreography and contributions to the world of dance and music videos.
People
Akilah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akilah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Akilah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akilah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,877 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akilah 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 119,136 US residents.
Is Akilah a common name?
We classify Akilah as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,002 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akilah most popular?
The single biggest year for Akilah was 1993, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akilah is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Akilah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,545 people with the name Akilah, or 0.84 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,336 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Akilah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Akilah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Akilah appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,542 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Akilah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Akilah is Black at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and White (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Akilah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Akilah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (2,214 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Akilah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akilah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akilah 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 Akilah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akilah 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 Akilah 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.
How many people are called Akilah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.