girls' name ★ peaked 2012

Aaliyah

Meaning A female given name from Arabic Gender Girl Rank 2025 #101 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

A female given name from Arabic.

Rank 2025
#101
among girls · ↓6 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,607
named Aaliyah · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 617
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2012
5,530 babies
All-time total
110,077
#352 all-time among girls
First recorded
1976
in Social Security records

Aaliyah popularity over time

110,077 babies have been named Aaliyah since 1976, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s 142 – 142 14 – #2,050
1980s 209 – 209 21 +47% #2,440
1990s 7,839 11 7,850 785 +3656% #176
2000s 36,381 43 36,424 3,642 +364% #63
2010s 46,734 47 46,781 4,678 +28% #36
2020s (to 2025) 18,666 5 18,671 3,112 -33% #61

Where Aaliyah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 2,493 1.55 #109
2027 2,400 1.49 #114
2028 2,324 1.45 #117
2029 2,261 1.41 #120
2030 2,209 1.37 #129

Where Aaliyah is most popular

Girls named Aaliyah per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.86 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Nevada, and Hawaii.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Aaliyah born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 148 6.09 +227%
Nevada 217 4.67 +151%
Hawaii 41 3.58 +92%
Delaware 38 3.35 +80%
Alaska 27 3.14 +69%
Arizona 440 3.14 +69%
California 2,599 3.09 +66%
Mississippi 143 3.06 +64%
District of Columbia 36 3.04 +63%
Rhode Island 38 3.03 +63%
Florida 1,192 2.79 +50%
Georgia 605 2.66 +43%
Texas 2,025 2.52 +35%
Washington 351 2.43 +31%
Maryland 251 2.37 +27%
South Carolina 212 2.36 +27%
Connecticut 133 2.29 +23%
Oregon 145 2.23 +20%
Louisiana 193 2.20 +19%
South Dakota 31 2.17 +17%
North Carolina 492 2.16 +16%
Massachusetts 250 2.07 +11%
Oklahoma 151 2.05 +10%
Arkansas 107 2.02 +9%
New York 799 2.02 +9%
Illinois 458 2.00 +8%
Colorado 221 1.98 +7%
Virginia 331 1.94 ≈ national
Kansas 112 1.94 ≈ national
Alabama 181 1.93 ≈ national
New Jersey 342 1.89 ≈ national
Tennessee 286 1.81 ≈ national
West Virginia 47 1.79 ≈ national
Indiana 250 1.78 ≈ national
Nebraska 64 1.78 ≈ national
Kentucky 151 1.77 -5%
Michigan 310 1.70 -8%
Ohio 403 1.70 -9%
North Dakota 22 1.67 -10%
Minnesota 180 1.67 -10%
Pennsylvania 387 1.64 -12%
Maine 25 1.62 -13%
Iowa 94 1.61 -13%
Missouri 176 1.46 -21%
Utah 120 1.44 -22%
Wyoming 6 1.41 -24%
Idaho 45 1.34 -28%
Wisconsin 137 1.33 -28%
Montana 10 0.739 -60%
New Hampshire – – –
Vermont – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Aaliyah

Aaliyah is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #101 in 2025 with 2,607 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1976, 110,077 American babies have been named Aaliyah. Its peak came in 2012, when 5,530 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Aaliyah stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Aaliyah?

The median living Aaliyah is about 13 years old; half are between 8 and 20. An estimated 109 thousand people named Aaliyah are alive in the United States today.

median 13 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Aaliyah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 2,607 #101 – –
2024 2,712 #95 – –
2023 2,858 #85 5 #12,243
2022 3,286 #69 – –
2021 3,619 #61 – –
2020 3,584 #65 – –
2019 3,675 #70 5 #12,146
2018 3,845 #65 – –
2017 4,197 #57 7 #9,699
2016 4,660 #53 – –
2015 4,884 #47 5 #12,089
2014 4,902 #45 5 #12,111
2013 5,246 #37 12 #6,604
2012 5,523 #36 7 #9,710
2011 5,129 #46 – –
2010 4,673 #56 6 #10,767
2009 4,378 #63 – –
2008 4,046 #76 – –
2007 3,961 #83 – –
2006 3,745 #90 – –
2005 3,459 #93 10 #7,097
2004 3,492 #94 11 #6,522
2003 3,673 #90 6 #9,582
2002 4,779 #64 8 #7,643
2001 3,352 #96 8 #7,536
2000 1,496 #211 – –
1995 1,256 #225 – –
1990 12 #6,867 – –
1985 10 #6,457 – –
1980 39 #2,440 – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Aaliyah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Aaliyah Aaliyah American singer (1979–2001) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Aaliyah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Aaliyah?

The median living Aaliyah is about 13 years old. Half of all living Aaliyahs are between 8 and 20 years old.

How many people named Aaliyah are alive today?

An estimated 109 thousand people named Aaliyah are alive in the United States, based on 110,077 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Aaliyah mean?

A female given name from Arabic.

How popular is the name Aaliyah in 2025?

Aaliyah ranked #101 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,607 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Aaliyah?

110,077 babies have been named Aaliyah in the United States since 1976, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Aaliyah most popular?

Aaliyah peaked in 2012, when 5,530 newborns received the name.

Is Aaliyah a boy or girl name?

Aaliyah is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Aaliyah rising or falling?

Aaliyah is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Aaliyah become more popular?

Aaliyah is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,209 girls named Aaliyah in 2030, which would rank around #129. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Aaliyah?

Well-known people named Aaliyah include Aaliyah (singer).

Names like Aaliyah

Names that sound and feel close to Aaliyah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Aaliyah with similar names → More names starting with A →