UK girl's name
Aaliyah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the highest, most exalted one".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Aaliyah is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Aaliyah popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #148, with 339 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2002, with 533 births.
This profile covers 10,746 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 64% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 11,386 living people in the UK are called Aaliyah. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Aaliyah ranked #148 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 339 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2002, when 533 girls were registered as Aaliyah.
- • Aaliyah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #215 in 2024.
- • About 11,386 living people in the UK are estimated to have Aaliyah as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#148
2024
Births in 2024
339
Latest year
Peak year
2002
533 births
Estimated living
11,386
2026
Meaning
What does Aaliyah mean?
Aaliyah is a name with Arabic origins, derived from the word "Aaliyah" which means "exalted" or "rising high" in Arabic. It is a feminine name that has been used for centuries in various parts of the Arab world and among Muslim communities around the globe.
The name Aaliyah can be traced back to the early days of Islam, and it is believed to have been used as a name for girls since the 7th century. In Islamic tradition, the name is often associated with spiritual elevation and purity of heart and soul.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aaliyah can be found in the historical accounts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over a vast empire spanning from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. During this period, several women bearing the name Aaliyah achieved prominence in various fields, including literature, poetry, and scholarship.
Throughout history, the name Aaliyah has been borne by notable figures across different cultures and regions. One of the most famous historical figures named Aaliyah was Aaliyah bint Abdallah, a 9th-century Muslim scholar and poet from present-day Iraq, renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature and Islamic studies.
Another prominent figure with the name Aaliyah was Aaliyah Khaanum, a 17th-century Mughal princess and the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. She was known for her patronage of art, architecture, and literature during the Mughal Empire's golden age.
In the 20th century, the name Aaliyah gained widespread popularity, particularly in the United States, thanks in part to the success of the late American singer and actress Aaliyah Dana Haughton (1979-2001), who was often referred to simply as Aaliyah. Her music and style had a significant impact on the R&B and hip-hop genres, and she remains an iconic figure in popular culture.
Other notable historical figures named Aaliyah include Aaliyah Gurkani (1911-1976), a Pakistani scholar and educator who played a crucial role in promoting women's education in the region, and Aaliyah Saleh (1936-1994), a renowned Sudanese singer and actress celebrated for her contributions to Sudanese music and culture.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Aaliyah over time
The chart below shows babies named Aaliyah registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Aaliyah, the clearest high point is 2002. The latest England and Wales figure is 339 births in 2024, compared with 533 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aaliyah by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Aaliyah was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #134 | 1,862 | 5 |
| 2010s | #127 | 4,403 | 10 |
| 2000s | #138 | 4,060 | 10 |
| 1990s | #338 | 421 | 4 |
Geography
Where Aaliyah is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Aaliyah. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Aaliyah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #215 in 2024.
Across the UK
Aaliyah in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#215 in 2024
24 years of NRS records, 483 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#288 in 2024
23 years of NISRA records, 216 total registered
Related
Names similar to Aaliyah
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Aaliyah: questions and answers
How popular is the name Aaliyah in the UK right now?
In 2024, Aaliyah was ranked #148 for girls in England and Wales, with 339 births registered.
When was Aaliyah most popular?
The peak year on record was 2002, with 533 babies registered as Aaliyah in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Aaliyah?
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the highest, most exalted one".
How many people are called Aaliyah in the UK?
A total of 10,746 babies have been registered as Aaliyah across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 483 more in Scotland and 216 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Aaliyah most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Aaliyah ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #215 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.