Akeelah
Girl · a-KEE-la · Arabic
Akeelah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “intelligent, wise”. In 2025 it ranked 4,276th for girls in the UK (5 babies) and 7,131st for girls in the US (15 babies).
What does Akeelah mean?
Arabic: spelling of Akilah, from Aqila
“intelligent, wise”
This spelling was made familiar by the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, about a girl competing in a national spelling bee.
- Say it
- a-KEE-la
Is Akeelah a girl's or a boy's name?
Akeelah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the UK and 15 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Akeelah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,276among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5about 1 in 56,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the UK were named Akeelah, making it the 4,276th most popular name for girls. Its busiest year was 2010, with 12 girls.
2025 had more girls named Akeelah than any year since 2016.
Half of all the girls named Akeelah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,200th in England and Wales.
Akeelah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #4,276 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,929 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 4 | #4,904 |
| 2018 | 2 | #7,433 |
| 2017 | 3 | #5,998 |
| 2016 | 5 | #4,290 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,951 |
| 2014 | 6 | #3,702 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,953 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,887 |
| 2011 | 7 | #3,360 |
| 2010 | 12 | #2,234 |
| 2009 | 3 | #5,801 |
| 2008 | 4 | #4,742 |
| 2007 | 3 | #5,415 |
How popular is Akeelah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #7,131among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 15about 1 in 110,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Fallingdown 38% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 15 girls in the US were named Akeelah, making it the 7,131st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,483rd. Its busiest year was 2006, with 403 girls. It first appears in the records in 1989.
2025 had fewer girls named Akeelah than any year since 2005.
Half of all the girls named Akeelah in the US since 1880 were born between 2006 and 2012, the years shaded on the chart below.
Akeelah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #7,131 |
| 2024 | 21 | #5,796 |
| 2023 | 20 | #5,955 |
| 2022 | 24 | #5,306 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4,829 |
| 2020 | 22 | #5,483 |
| 2019 | 30 | #4,545 |
| 2018 | 39 | #3,788 |
| 2017 | 31 | #4,475 |
| 2016 | 34 | #4,249 |
| 2015 | 37 | #3,988 |
| 2014 | 34 | #4,267 |
| 2013 | 40 | #3,776 |
| 2012 | 39 | #3,914 |
| 2011 | 58 | #2,944 |
| 2010 | 94 | #2,093 |
| 2009 | 124 | #1,756 |
| 2008 | 160 | #1,468 |
| 2007 | 249 | #1,054 |
| 2006 | 403 | #708 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 6 | #13,589 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 8 | #9,797 |
| 1996 | 6 | #11,801 |
| 1995 | 5 | #13,380 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
Names like Akeelah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aaliyah Ayah Aaminah Safa Nusaybah Zainab Sumayyah Ruqayyah Amira Abeeha Umaymah Hafsa
Names related to Akeelah
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza Kairo