Girl nameCurrently #93 in the USFalling
Aaliyah
uh-LEE-uh//əˈliːə//
3 syllablesPeak year: 20127 lettersStarts with A
Meaning & origin
Exalted, sublime
Aaliyah comes from the Arabic root 'ali', meaning high, exalted, or sublime, and gained wide popularity in the US following the fame of R&B singer Aaliyah in the 1990s. It has remained a widely loved name across many communities since.
Aaliyah's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Aaliyah |
|---|---|
| 1976 | 18 |
| 1977 | 40 |
| 1978 | 46 |
| 1979 | 38 |
| 1980 | 39 |
| 1981 | 28 |
| 1982 | 28 |
| 1983 | 20 |
| 1984 | 21 |
| 1985 | 10 |
| 1986 | 18 |
| 1987 | 14 |
| 1988 | 17 |
| 1989 | 14 |
| 1990 | 12 |
| 1991 | 16 |
| 1992 | 25 |
| 1993 | 22 |
| 1994 | 1,457 |
| 1995 | 1,256 |
| 1996 | 831 |
| 1997 | 1,739 |
| 1998 | 1,404 |
| 1999 | 1,088 |
| 2000 | 1,496 |
| 2001 | 3,360 |
| 2002 | 4,787 |
| 2003 | 3,679 |
| 2004 | 3,503 |
| 2005 | 3,469 |
| 2006 | 3,745 |
| 2007 | 3,960 |
| 2008 | 4,045 |
| 2009 | 4,378 |
| 2010 | 4,678 |
| 2011 | 5,127 |
| 2012 | 5,529 |
| 2013 | 5,257 |
| 2014 | 4,904 |
| 2015 | 4,883 |
| 2016 | 4,656 |
| 2017 | 4,202 |
| 2018 | 3,844 |
| 2019 | 3,677 |
| 2020 | 3,578 |
| 2021 | 3,613 |
| 2022 | 3,284 |
| 2023 | 2,862 |
| 2024 | 2,703 |
Aaliyah through the decades
- Aaliyah peaked in 2012, when 5,529 babies were named Aaliyah in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Aaliyah has fallen 17% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Aaliyah currently ranks #93 in the US and is cooling off.
Nicknames
Liyah
Variants & spellings
AliyahAaliya
Famous people named Aaliyah
- Aaliyah — R&B singer