Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Alijah

Gender Unisex · 9% girls Rank 2025 #469 Trend ↑ Rising 16%
Rank 2025
#469
among boys · ↓40 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
665
named Alijah · -13% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,624
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2021
792 babies
All-time total
15,681
#1,007 all-time among boys
First recorded
1987
in Social Security records

Alijah popularity over time

15,681 babies have been named Alijah since 1987, 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
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – – – – – –
1980s – 11 11 1 – #6,969
1990s 265 533 798 80 +7155% #1,039
2000s 570 3,646 4,216 422 +428% #470
2010s 450 5,865 6,315 632 +50% #454
2020s (to 2025) 165 4,176 4,341 724 +15% #408

Where Alijah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 667 0.39 #464
2027 680 0.40 #459
2028 692 0.40 #453
2029 702 0.41 #448
2030 711 0.42 #442

Where Alijah is most popular

Boys named Alijah per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.406 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Alijah 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 48 1.46 +259%
Mississippi 61 1.07 +164%
Louisiana 93 0.909 +124%
Nevada 48 0.842 +107%
Alabama 76 0.695 +71%
South Carolina 67 0.648 +60%
Georgia 157 0.620 +53%
Florida 291 0.615 +51%
Texas 519 0.589 +45%
Arkansas 37 0.585 +44%
North Carolina 133 0.521 +28%
Illinois 128 0.501 +23%
Ohio 131 0.494 +22%
Oklahoma 42 0.475 +17%
Tennessee 85 0.471 +16%
Indiana 75 0.468 +15%
California 421 0.461 +13%
Hawaii 7 0.451 +11%
Arizona 72 0.440 +8%
Colorado 55 0.426 +5%
Michigan 87 0.425 +5%
Alaska 5 0.420 ≈ national
Missouri 55 0.397 ≈ national
Maryland 46 0.386 -5%
Pennsylvania 101 0.380 -6%
Virginia 72 0.379 -7%
Kentucky 36 0.359 -12%
New Jersey 71 0.353 -13%
Massachusetts 47 0.342 -16%
Connecticut 21 0.310 -24%
Washington 49 0.300 -26%
New York 123 0.284 -30%
Wisconsin 28 0.236 -42%
Iowa 16 0.232 -43%
West Virginia 7 0.214 -47%
Utah 18 0.189 -54%
Minnesota 20 0.163 -60%
Oregon 12 0.158 -61%
Kansas 5 0.073 -82%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Alijah

Alijah is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #469 in 2025 with 651 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1987, 15,681 American babies have been named Alijah, about 91% boys and 9% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 792 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Alijah stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Alijah?

The median living Alijah is about 11 years old; half are between 5 and 17. An estimated 16 thousand people named Alijah are alive in the United States today.

median 11 020406080100

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

Alijah 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 14 #7,505 651 #469
2024 22 #5,625 739 #429
2023 18 #6,421 702 #443
2022 34 #4,208 653 #470
2021 30 #4,510 762 #408
2020 47 #3,284 669 #447
2019 56 #2,927 606 #483
2018 55 #2,964 590 #489
2017 61 #2,781 619 #476
2016 56 #2,968 588 #509
2015 86 #2,195 621 #482
2014 29 #4,774 580 #484
2013 24 #5,498 526 #509
2012 28 #4,974 600 #454
2011 24 #5,555 582 #458
2010 31 #4,613 553 #470
2009 42 #3,739 580 #471
2008 48 #3,423 588 #470
2007 40 #3,921 468 #550
2006 71 #2,555 418 #586
2005 50 #3,128 379 #596
2004 56 #2,852 333 #633
2003 67 #2,440 300 #658
2002 56 #2,709 266 #684
2001 85 #1,996 172 #909
2000 55 #2,674 142 #1,027
1995 27 #3,880 44 #1,915
1990 – – 8 #5,842
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Alijah?

The median living Alijah is about 11 years old. Half of all living Alijahs are between 5 and 17 years old.

How many people named Alijah are alive today?

An estimated 16 thousand people named Alijah are alive in the United States, based on 15,681 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Alijah in 2025?

Alijah ranked #469 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 651 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Alijah?

15,681 babies have been named Alijah in the United States since 1987, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Alijah most popular?

Alijah peaked in 2021, when 792 newborns received the name.

Is Alijah a boy or girl name?

Alijah is used for both: about 9% of babies named Alijah have been girls and 91% boys.

Is the name Alijah rising or falling?

Alijah is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Alijah become more popular?

Alijah is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 711 boys named Alijah in 2030, which would rank around #442. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Alijah

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

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