Ilai
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ee-LYE
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,301 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #4,395 for boys
Ilai is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “supreme, exalted”. In 2025 it ranked 4,301st for boys in the UK (4 babies) and 4,395th for boys in the US (23 babies).
What does Ilai mean?
Hebrew: Hebrew, from Aramaic
“supreme, exalted”
Ilai is listed among King David's mighty warriors in 1 Chronicles 11.
Is Ilai a girl's or a boy's name?
Ilai is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 4 boys in the UK and 23 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ilai in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,301st among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 4 about 1 in 75,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 4 boys in the UK were named Ilai, making it the 4,301st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,803rd. Its busiest year was 2017, with 6 boys.
2025 had more boys named Ilai than any year since 2018.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,212th in England and Wales.
Ilai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | #4,301 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 3 | #5,017 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 4 | #4,169 |
| 2017 | 6 | #3,191 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 3 | #4,884 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 3 | #4,837 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 3 | #4,486 |
How popular is Ilai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,395th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 23 about 1 in 74,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 254% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 23 boys in the US were named Ilai, making it the 4,395th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 9,548th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 40 boys. It first appears in the records in 2005.
Half of all the boys named Ilai in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 50 boys in the US were given Ilai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #2,210, up from #4,395 for this spelling alone.
- Ilay 27
- Ilai 23
Ilai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #4,395 |
| 2024 | 22 | #4,567 |
| 2023 | 40 | #3,053 |
| 2022 | 33 | #3,462 |
| 2021 | 11 | #7,084 |
| 2020 | 7 | #9,548 |
| 2019 | 6 | #10,797 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,132 |
| 2017 | 7 | #9,691 |
| 2016 | 17 | #5,314 |
| 2015 | 13 | #6,320 |
| 2014 | 8 | #8,775 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 6 | #10,763 |
| 2011 | 8 | #8,760 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 9 | #8,305 |
| 2008 | 9 | #8,319 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,169 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 7 | #9,108 |
Names like Ilai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Koa, Kai, Lawi, Musa, Eesa, Ilyas, Ibrahim, Makai, Ozzy, Zakariya, Bodhi, Yusuf
Other spellings of Ilai
Names related to Ilai
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias
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, “Ilai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ilai, updated 20 October 2026.