Akilah
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ah-KEE-lah
- Origin
- Arabic
- US rank, 2025
- #9,454 for girls
Akilah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “intelligent, wise”. In 2025 it ranked 9,454th for girls in the US (10 babies).
What does Akilah mean?
Arabic: from Aqila, feminine of Aqil
“intelligent, wise”
Spelled Akeelah, it is the name of the young speller in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee.
Is Akilah a girl's or a boy's name?
Akilah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 10 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Akilah in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2014, with 9 girls.
Half of all the girls named Akilah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Akilah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,966 |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,929 |
| 2022 | 3 | #5,885 |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 5 | #4,110 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 3 | #6,009 |
| 2015 | 5 | #4,294 |
| 2014 | 9 | #2,809 |
| 2013 | 3 | #6,003 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 3 | #6,007 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 6 | #3,603 |
| 2008 | 5 | #4,065 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,858 |
| 2006 | 3 | #5,259 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 5 | #3,356 |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
| 1996 | 5 | #2,815 |
How popular is Akilah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 9,454th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 10 about 1 in 160,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 52% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 10 girls in the US were named Akilah, making it the 9,454th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,546th. Its busiest year was 1993, with 115 girls. It first appears in the records in 1972.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had the fewest girls named Akilah since it first appeared, in 1972.
Half of all the girls named Akilah in the US since 1880 were born between 1982 and 2003, the years shaded on the chart below.
Akilah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #9,454 |
| 2024 | 13 | #7,962 |
| 2023 | 14 | #7,635 |
| 2022 | 27 | #4,904 |
| 2021 | 29 | #4,603 |
| 2020 | 29 | #4,546 |
| 2019 | 21 | #5,794 |
| 2018 | 27 | #4,886 |
| 2017 | 24 | #5,336 |
| 2016 | 39 | #3,849 |
| 2015 | 20 | #6,234 |
| 2014 | 20 | #6,205 |
| 2013 | 38 | #3,916 |
| 2012 | 31 | #4,599 |
| 2011 | 37 | #3,998 |
| 2010 | 39 | #3,888 |
| 2009 | 32 | #4,570 |
| 2008 | 42 | #3,778 |
| 2007 | 55 | #3,125 |
| 2006 | 80 | #2,353 |
| 2005 | 59 | #2,783 |
| 2004 | 48 | #3,176 |
| 2003 | 55 | #2,797 |
| 2002 | 68 | #2,349 |
| 2001 | 54 | #2,736 |
| 2000 | 52 | #2,773 |
| 1999 | 65 | #2,280 |
| 1998 | 61 | #2,304 |
| 1997 | 97 | #1,622 |
| 1996 | 114 | #1,436 |
| 1995 | 88 | #1,665 |
| 1994 | 80 | #1,793 |
| 1993 | 115 | #1,407 |
| 1992 | 97 | #1,585 |
| 1991 | 92 | #1,622 |
| 1990 | 65 | #2,048 |
| 1989 | 63 | #1,993 |
| 1988 | 62 | #1,948 |
| 1987 | 61 | #1,879 |
| 1986 | 58 | #1,909 |
| 1985 | 47 | #2,202 |
| 1984 | 46 | #2,148 |
| 1983 | 75 | #1,512 |
| 1982 | 83 | #1,445 |
| 1981 | 78 | #1,528 |
| 1980 | 95 | #1,328 |
| 1979 | 95 | #1,314 |
| 1978 | 93 | #1,299 |
| 1977 | 86 | #1,331 |
| 1976 | 74 | #1,422 |
| 1975 | 60 | #1,625 |
| 1974 | 58 | #1,616 |
| 1973 | 29 | #2,506 |
| 1972 | 12 | #4,522 |
Names like Akilah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aaliyah, Zainab, Aaminah, Ayah, Safa, Farah, Ruqayyah, Sumayyah, Azeemah, Nusaybah, Aakifah, Amira
Names related to Akilah
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Akilah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/akilah, updated 20 October 2026.