Aryeh
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "lion".
Name Census estimates that about 3,277 living Americans carry the first name Aryeh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aryeh today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aryeh births was 2024 (147 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aryeh. 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 Aryeh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 104,594 Americans
Peak year
2024
147 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,317
Tracked since 1954
Census
Aryeh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,393 people with the first name Aryeh, which placed it at #6,643 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
#6,643
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,393 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aryeh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aryeh is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.3%). 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 Aryeh 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 Aryeh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 2,199
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 84
- Black or African American2.3% · 54
- Two or more races2.0% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Aryeh
Out of the 3,344 babies given the name Aryeh since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Aryeh as a male name
- Ranked #1,317 in 2024
- 147 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (147 births)
Aryeh as a female name
- Ranked #16,734 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aryeh leans strongly male. 2,372 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 28 female bearers (1.2%).
Popularity
Aryeh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aryeh from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,060 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aryeh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aryeh 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 Aryeh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aryehs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Aryeh, while Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 348 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aryeh
The name Aryeh originates from the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "אֲרִי" (ari), which means "lion." The name has been in use since ancient times in the Middle East, particularly among Jewish communities.
In the Bible, the name Aryeh is not directly mentioned, but the word "ari" (lion) appears frequently, often symbolizing strength, courage, and leadership. For example, the tribe of Judah is referred to as a "lion's whelp" in Genesis 49:9, and the phrase "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" is used in reference to Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation (5:5).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aryeh dates back to the 13th century. Aryeh ben Mosheh, also known as Leo Hebraeus or Judah Abravanel, was a Jewish physician, philosopher, and translator who lived in Italy from around 1285 to 1354.
Another notable figure was Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg, a renowned Talmudic scholar and Rabbi who lived in Lithuania in the 17th century (1598-1685). He was widely respected for his expertise in Jewish law and authored several influential works.
In the 19th century, Aryeh Löb Bernstein (1708-1788) was a prominent Jewish scholar and Talmudist from Germany. He is particularly known for his commentary on the Talmud, titled "Shav Shematzah."
Aryeh Kaplan (1934-1983) was a renowned American Orthodox rabbi, author, and scholar. He played a significant role in popularizing Jewish mysticism and made numerous contributions to the study of Kabbalah and Jewish philosophy.
Aryeh Deri (born 1959) is an Israeli politician who has served as the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Negev and Galilee Development. He is also the leader of the Shas political party, which represents Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities in Israel.
While the name Aryeh has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has also been adopted by people of various backgrounds and nationalities. The name's connection to the lion's strength and courage has made it a popular choice across different societies.
People
Aryeh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aryeh 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
Aryeh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aryeh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,277 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aryeh 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 104,594 US residents.
Is Aryeh a common name?
We classify Aryeh as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,344 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aryeh most popular?
The single biggest year for Aryeh was 2024, when 147 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aryeh is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aryeh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,393 people with the name Aryeh, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,643 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 Aryeh 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 Aryeh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aryeh leans strongly male. 2,372 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 28 female bearers (1.2%). 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 Aryeh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aryeh is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.3%). 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 Aryeh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aryeh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (2,199 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 Aryeh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aryeh a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Aryeh in the SSA data are male. 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 Aryeh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aryeh 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 Aryeh 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 have Aryeh as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Aryeh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.