Aaliyah
Girl · a-LEE-a · Arabic
Aaliyah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “high, exalted”. In 2025 it ranked 141st for girls in the UK (399 babies) and 101st for girls in the US (2,607 babies).
What does Aaliyah mean?
Arabic: spelling of Aliya
“high, exalted”
Made widely known in the English-speaking world by the American singer Aaliyah (1979-2001).
- Say it
- a-LEE-a
More on Wiktionary.
Is Aaliyah a girl's or a boy's name?
Aaliyah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 399 girls in the UK and 2,607 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Aaliyah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #141among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 399about 1 in 700 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 8% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 399 girls in the UK were named Aaliyah, making it the 141st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 131st. Its busiest year was 2002, with 561 girls.
Half of all the girls named Aaliyah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 571 girls in the UK were given Aaliyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #109, up from #141 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 132nd in England and Wales, 191st in Scotland and 177th in Northern Ireland.
Aaliyah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 399 | #141 |
| 2024 | 361 | #153 |
| 2023 | 392 | #143 |
| 2022 | 426 | #133 |
| 2021 | 434 | #127 |
| 2020 | 424 | #131 |
| 2019 | 386 | #148 |
| 2018 | 439 | #138 |
| 2017 | 474 | #130 |
| 2016 | 525 | #126 |
| 2015 | 463 | #136 |
| 2014 | 473 | #133 |
| 2013 | 494 | #128 |
| 2012 | 481 | #133 |
| 2011 | 532 | #118 |
| 2010 | 460 | #137 |
| 2009 | 439 | #141 |
| 2008 | 447 | #133 |
| 2007 | 395 | #158 |
| 2006 | 522 | #114 |
| 2005 | 449 | #137 |
| 2004 | 514 | #116 |
| 2003 | 551 | #104 |
| 2002 | 561 | #99 |
| 2001 | 235 | #195 |
| 2000 | 148 | #286 |
| 1999 | 70 | #472 |
| 1998 | 113 | #347 |
| 1997 | 129 | #315 |
| 1996 | 111 | #353 |
How popular is Aaliyah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #101among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 2,607about 1 in 620 girls
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 26% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2.2%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 2,607 girls in the US were named Aaliyah, making it the 101st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 65th. Its busiest year was 2012, with 5,523 girls. It first appears in the records in 1976.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Aaliyah than any year since 2000.
Half of all the girls named Aaliyah in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 4,461 girls in the US were given Aaliyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #60, up from #101 for this spelling alone.
Aaliyah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,607 | #101 |
| 2024 | 2,712 | #95 |
| 2023 | 2,858 | #85 |
| 2022 | 3,286 | #69 |
| 2021 | 3,619 | #61 |
| 2020 | 3,584 | #65 |
| 2019 | 3,675 | #70 |
| 2018 | 3,845 | #65 |
| 2017 | 4,197 | #57 |
| 2016 | 4,660 | #53 |
| 2015 | 4,884 | #47 |
| 2014 | 4,902 | #45 |
| 2013 | 5,246 | #37 |
| 2012 | 5,523 | #36 |
| 2011 | 5,129 | #46 |
| 2010 | 4,673 | #56 |
| 2009 | 4,378 | #63 |
| 2008 | 4,046 | #76 |
| 2007 | 3,961 | #83 |
| 2006 | 3,745 | #90 |
| 2005 | 3,459 | #93 |
| 2004 | 3,492 | #94 |
| 2003 | 3,673 | #90 |
| 2002 | 4,779 | #64 |
| 2001 | 3,352 | #96 |
| 2000 | 1,496 | #211 |
| 1999 | 1,088 | #287 |
| 1998 | 1,399 | #222 |
| 1997 | 1,739 | #176 |
| 1996 | 831 | #335 |
| 1995 | 1,256 | #225 |
| 1994 | 1,451 | #202 |
| 1993 | 22 | #4,518 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,082 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,653 |
| 1990 | 12 | #6,861 |
| 1989 | 14 | #5,830 |
| 1988 | 17 | #4,835 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,307 |
| 1986 | 18 | #4,344 |
| 1985 | 10 | #6,455 |
| 1984 | 21 | #3,725 |
| 1983 | 20 | #3,805 |
| 1982 | 28 | #3,092 |
| 1981 | 28 | #3,066 |
| 1980 | 39 | #2,440 |
| 1979 | 38 | #2,430 |
| 1978 | 46 | #2,050 |
| 1977 | 40 | #2,257 |
| 1976 | 18 | #3,677 |
Names like Aaliyah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Ayah Amira Khadija Hafsa Summer Sumayyah Hiba Amaya Nusaybah Ruqayyah
Other spellings of Aaliyah
Names related to Aaliyah
Alayah Aliya Alaiya Aaliya Aaila Alaiyah Aalia Aleyah Alaiah Aayla
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza Kairo