Alaiyah
An Arabic name meaning "exalted" or "highest".
Name Census estimates that about 1,967 living Americans carry the first name Alaiyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaiyah today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaiyah births was 2021 (206 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaiyah. 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 Alaiyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Alaiyah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 174,252 Americans
Peak year
2021
206 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,478
Tracked since 1994
Census
Alaiyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 804 people with the first name Alaiyah, which placed it at #14,601 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
#14,601
National first-name rank
People counted
804
804 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
62.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alaiyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaiyah is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Alaiyah 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 Alaiyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.7% · 504
- Hispanic or Latino18.9% · 152
- Two or more races8.6% · 69
- White8.2% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
Popularity
Alaiyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaiyah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 870 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alaiyah 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 Alaiyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alaiyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Alaiyah, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 44 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alaiyah
The name Alaiyah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the Middle Eastern region. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word 'Aliyah', which means 'exalted' or 'high' in English. The name carries connotations of elevated status, nobility, and dignity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alaiyah can be found in ancient Arabic texts and historical records. It was occasionally used as a name for girls born into prominent families or those with a high social standing. The name's association with exaltation and loftiness made it a fitting choice for parents wishing to bestow a sense of reverence and prestige upon their daughters.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alaiyah. One of the earliest recorded examples is Alaiyah al-Hadrami, a renowned 10th-century poet and scholar from Yemen (born around 920 AD). Her poetic works were widely acclaimed for their eloquence and depth, cementing her place in the annals of Arabic literature.
Another prominent figure with this name was Alaiyah bint Ahmad al-Manfaluti (1905-1986), an Egyptian writer and feminist activist. She played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and education in Egypt during the early 20th century, using her literary works to challenge societal norms and promote progressive ideals.
In the realm of religion, Alaiyah bint Uthman (born around 642 AD) was a revered figure in early Islamic history. She was known for her piety and knowledge, and her teachings and insights were highly regarded by scholars and religious leaders of her time.
More recently, Alaiyah (1979-2001) was an American singer, actress, and model whose meteoric rise to fame in the late 1990s was tragically cut short by her untimely death. Despite her brief career, she left an indelible mark on the music industry and is remembered as a trailblazer in the world of R&B and hip-hop.
Another notable figure was Alaiyah Hamourtziadou (born in 1975), a British actress and screenwriter of Greek-Cypriot descent. She has appeared in numerous TV shows and films, including "The Halcyon" and "The Art of Marriage," and is renowned for her versatile performances and storytelling abilities.
While the name Alaiyah has its roots in the Arabic language, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity across various regions and communities worldwide, with each instance carrying the essence of its original meaning – a name that embodies exaltation, dignity, and a sense of elevated status.
People
Alaiyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaiyah 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
Alaiyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaiyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,967 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaiyah 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 174,252 US residents.
Is Alaiyah a common name?
We classify Alaiyah as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,983 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaiyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaiyah was 2021, when 206 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaiyah is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alaiyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 804 people with the name Alaiyah, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,601 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 Alaiyah 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 Alaiyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alaiyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 803 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Alaiyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaiyah is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.9%) and Two or More Races (8.6%). 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 Alaiyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Alaiyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.7% (504 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 Alaiyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alaiyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaiyah 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 Alaiyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alaiyah 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 Alaiyah 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 common is the name Alaiyah?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Alaiyah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.