Iyanla
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ee-YAHN-la
- Origin
- Yoruba
Iyanla is a girls' name of Yoruba origin, meaning “great mother”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Iyanla mean?
Yoruba: Yoruba iya nla, great mother
“great mother”
From the Yoruba iya nla, meaning great mother.
Is Iyanla a girl's or a boy's name?
Iyanla is a girls' name.
How popular is Iyanla in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1999, with 49 girls. It first appears in the records in 1998.
Half of all the girls named Iyanla in the US since 1880 were born between 2000 and 2004, the years shaded on the chart below.
Iyanla in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 13 | #8,480 |
| 2013 | 18 | #6,725 |
| 2012 | 7 | #13,477 |
| 2011 | 6 | #14,816 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 9 | #11,412 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 10 | #9,887 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 33 | #3,885 |
| 2001 | 49 | #2,920 |
| 2000 | 41 | #3,266 |
| 1999 | 49 | #2,779 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,579 |
Names like Iyanla
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Mckenna Kiara Amira Brianna Amaya Samira Sienna Kiana Kianna Isabella Aiyana Aaliyah
Names related to Iyanla
More Yoruba names
Tiaraoluwa Ayomide Tobi Oluwadarasimi Oluwatamilore Ireoluwa Inioluwa Ifeoluwa Iremide Araoluwa Ayomikun Oluwanifemi Morayo Temiloluwa Obaloluwa Oluwatobiloba
Sources
Figures from 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, “Iyanla: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/iyanla, updated 20 October 2026.