Alaya
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- a-LAY-a
- UK rank, 2025
- #262 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #368 for girls
Alaya is a girls' name. In 2025 it ranked 262nd for girls in the UK (196 babies) and 368th for girls in the US (834 babies).
What does Alaya mean?
May be Sanskrit alaya, 'abode', or a modern form of Aaliyah
Sanskrit alaya, 'abode', also appears in the name Himalaya, 'abode of snow'.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Alaya a girl's or a boy's name?
Alaya is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 196 girls in the UK and 834 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Alaya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 262nd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 196 about 1 in 1,400 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 58% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 196 girls in the UK were named Alaya, making it the 262nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 307th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 225 girls.
Half of all the girls named Alaya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2018 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 375 girls in the UK were given Alaya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #171, up from #262 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 248th in England and Wales and 387th in Scotland.
Alaya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 196 | #262 |
| 2024 | 225 | #234 |
| 2023 | 190 | #264 |
| 2022 | 178 | #285 |
| 2021 | 184 | #282 |
| 2020 | 169 | #307 |
| 2019 | 128 | #376 |
| 2018 | 90 | #525 |
| 2017 | 118 | #419 |
| 2016 | 45 | #901 |
| 2015 | 35 | #1,085 |
| 2014 | 51 | #819 |
| 2013 | 21 | #1,559 |
| 2012 | 20 | #1,615 |
| 2011 | 13 | #2,152 |
| 2010 | 10 | #2,540 |
| 2009 | 9 | #2,695 |
| 2008 | 10 | #2,454 |
| 2007 | 6 | #3,396 |
| 2006 | 3 | #5,259 |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,555 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 1 | #5,280 |
| 1999 | 6 | #2,559 |
| 1998 | 3 | #4,026 |
| 1997 | 5 | #2,896 |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
How popular is Alaya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 368th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 834 about 1 in 1,900 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 834 girls in the US were named Alaya, making it the 368th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 338th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 915 girls. It first appears in the records in 1979.
Half of all the girls named Alaya in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 2,282 girls in the US were given Alaya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #155, up from #368 for this spelling alone.
Alaya in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 834 | #368 |
| 2024 | 866 | #362 |
| 2023 | 746 | #409 |
| 2022 | 795 | #393 |
| 2021 | 888 | #350 |
| 2020 | 915 | #338 |
| 2019 | 782 | #394 |
| 2018 | 487 | #616 |
| 2017 | 452 | #659 |
| 2016 | 408 | #703 |
| 2015 | 389 | #728 |
| 2014 | 347 | #805 |
| 2013 | 338 | #800 |
| 2012 | 328 | #817 |
| 2011 | 292 | #893 |
| 2010 | 242 | #1,030 |
| 2009 | 300 | #907 |
| 2008 | 236 | #1,100 |
| 2007 | 186 | #1,308 |
| 2006 | 198 | #1,212 |
| 2005 | 161 | #1,350 |
| 2004 | 117 | #1,653 |
| 2003 | 118 | #1,624 |
| 2002 | 96 | #1,851 |
| 2001 | 127 | #1,475 |
| 2000 | 77 | #2,099 |
| 1999 | 53 | #2,637 |
| 1998 | 49 | #2,728 |
| 1997 | 52 | #2,478 |
| 1996 | 46 | #2,668 |
| 1995 | 40 | #2,927 |
| 1994 | 36 | #3,163 |
| 1993 | 12 | #7,031 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,504 |
| 1991 | 12 | #6,969 |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,459 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 9 | #7,686 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 8 | #7,396 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 11 | #5,909 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 5 | #10,208 |
Names like Alaya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Aaliyah, Amira, Ayah, Amaya, Hafsa, Zainab, Abeeha, Khadija, Hiba, Ayra, Raya
Other spellings of Alaya
Alayah, Aleia, Aleya, Aleyah, Alayha, Aaleyah, Aalayah, Allayah, Aleiah, Aleeyah, Aalaya, Aleeya
Names related to Alaya
Alaia, Aliya, Alya, Alaiya, Elaya, Aaliya, Alaa, Alaiyah, Alaiah
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, “Alaya: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/alaya, updated 20 October 2026.