Alaia
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- a-LYE-a
- Origin
- Spanish
- UK rank, 2025
- #276 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #117 for girls
Alaia is a girls' name of Spanish origin, meaning “joyful, cheerful”. In 2025 it ranked 276th for girls in the UK (178 babies) and 117th for girls in the US (2,318 babies).
What does Alaia mean?
Spanish: Basque name, from alai, 'cheerful'
“joyful, cheerful”
More on Wiktionary.
Is Alaia a girl's or a boy's name?
Alaia is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 178 girls in the UK and 2,318 girls and 6 boys in the US.
How popular is Alaia in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 276th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 178 about 1 in 1,600 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 52% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 178 girls in the UK were named Alaia, making it the 276th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 271st. Its busiest year was 2020, with 189 girls.
Half of all the girls named Alaia in the UK since 1996 were born between 2020 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 223 girls in the UK were given Alaia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #239, up from #276 for this spelling alone.
- Alaia 178
- Alaiya 45
Among girls in 2025, it was 279th in England and Wales, 324th in Scotland and 290th in Northern Ireland.
Alaia in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 178 | #276 |
| 2024 | 185 | #281 |
| 2023 | 149 | #325 |
| 2022 | 182 | #276 |
| 2021 | 173 | #307 |
| 2020 | 189 | #271 |
| 2019 | 110 | #427 |
| 2018 | 37 | #1,028 |
| 2017 | 29 | #1,248 |
| 2016 | 35 | #1,073 |
| 2015 | 32 | #1,160 |
| 2014 | 28 | #1,272 |
| 2013 | 21 | #1,559 |
| 2012 | 8 | #3,148 |
| 2011 | 13 | #2,152 |
| 2010 | 3 | #5,938 |
| 2009 | 4 | #4,795 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,895 |
| 2007 | 7 | #3,060 |
| 2006 | 3 | #5,259 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 3 | #4,789 |
How popular is Alaia in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 117th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 2,318 about 1 in 690 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 60% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 2,318 girls in the US were named Alaia, making it the 117th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 120th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 2,429 girls. It first appears in the records in 1986. 6 boys were also named Alaia in 2025 (10,690th for boys).
Half of all the girls named Alaia in the US since 1880 were born between 2020 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 2,943 girls in the US were given Alaia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #110, up from #117 for this spelling alone.
Alaia in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,318 | #117 |
| 2024 | 2,429 | #112 |
| 2023 | 2,305 | #120 |
| 2022 | 2,081 | #139 |
| 2021 | 2,219 | #128 |
| 2020 | 2,282 | #120 |
| 2019 | 1,604 | #184 |
| 2018 | 527 | #583 |
| 2017 | 461 | #637 |
| 2016 | 487 | #615 |
| 2015 | 429 | #664 |
| 2014 | 66 | #2,646 |
| 2013 | 55 | #3,004 |
| 2012 | 54 | #3,093 |
| 2011 | 46 | #3,451 |
| 2010 | 41 | #3,744 |
| 2009 | 44 | #3,618 |
| 2008 | 37 | #4,178 |
| 2007 | 36 | #4,212 |
| 2006 | 18 | #6,838 |
| 2005 | 26 | #4,954 |
| 2004 | 18 | #6,484 |
| 2003 | 12 | #8,500 |
| 2002 | 8 | #11,102 |
| 2001 | 17 | #6,317 |
| 2000 | 14 | #7,152 |
| 1999 | 5 | #14,403 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 10 | #8,329 |
| 1996 | 7 | #10,562 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 5 | #13,423 |
| 1993 | 8 | #9,552 |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 6 | #9,540 |
Names like Alaia
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ayra, Aria, Amaya, Alaya, Amara, Dua, Amira, Aiza, Alara, Liyana, Alora, Safa
Other spellings of Alaia
Names related to Alaia
More Spanish names
Santiago, Lola, Xavier, Diego, Rio, Cruz, Elian, Jesus, Ximena, Javier, Esmeralda, Amayah, Reina, Cesar, Sierra, Paloma
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, “Alaia: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/alaia, updated 20 October 2026.