UK girl's name
Athaliah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is exalted".
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.
Athaliah is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Athaliah popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5891, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2023, with 6 births.
This profile covers 24 England and Wales registrations across 6 recorded years from 2019 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 50% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 24 living people in the UK are called Athaliah. 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
- • Athaliah ranked #5891 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2023, when 6 girls were registered as Athaliah.
- • About 24 living people in the UK are estimated to have Athaliah as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#5891
2024
Births in 2024
3
Latest year
Peak year
2023
6 births
Estimated living
24
2026
Meaning
What does Athaliah mean?
The name Athaliah has its origins in Hebrew culture and language. It is a combination of the Hebrew words 'athal' meaning 'afflicted' and 'Yah' which is a shortened form of the name Yahweh, the Hebrew name for God. The name Athaliah can therefore be interpreted to mean 'afflicted by God' or 'God's afflicted one'.
Athaliah is a name that appears in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament books of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. She was a princess of Israel who later became the Queen of Judah through her marriage to King Jehoram. Athaliah is notorious for her attempt to wipe out the entire royal family of Judah in order to seize power for herself. Her reign as Queen of Judah from 842-835 BC is described as one of the most wicked and idolatrous periods in the history of the kingdom.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Athaliah comes from a clay seal impression found in Israel, dating back to around the 8th century BC. This seal likely belonged to a woman named Athaliah who lived during the same time period as the biblical Queen Athaliah.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Athaliah. Athaliah of Judah, mentioned earlier, was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, and the wife of King Jehoram of Judah. Another Athaliah was the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Michael III, who lived in the 9th century AD.
Another famous bearer of the name was Athaliah Wilcox Obholzer (1891-1964), an American educator and activist who was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement and a leader in the National Woman's Party. Athaliah Moloobhog (1855-1923) was a Native American artist and educator from the Choctaw Nation, known for her intricate beadwork and advocacy for Native American education.
One of the most recent historical figures with the name Athaliah was Athaliah Kalloo (1919-2003), a South African anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist who played a key role in organizing workers' strikes and protests against the apartheid regime in the 1940s and 1950s.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Athaliah over time
The chart below shows babies named Athaliah registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2019 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 Athaliah, the clearest high point is 2023. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2024, compared with 6 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Athaliah by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Athaliah 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 | #4738 | 21 | 5 |
| 2010s | #5591 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Athaliah
- 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
Athaliah: questions and answers
How popular is the name Athaliah in the UK right now?
In 2024, Athaliah was ranked #5891 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Athaliah most popular?
The peak year on record was 2023, with 6 babies registered as Athaliah in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Athaliah?
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is exalted".
How many people are called Athaliah in the UK?
A total of 24 babies have been registered as Athaliah across the 6 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.