# Alaia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/alaia/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Basque |
| Meaning | “joyful”, “ascent”, “high”, “exalted” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 17,699 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 17 / 17,682 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,318, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed in the 21st century from Basque Alaia, from alai (“joyful”). For earlier use among English-speakers, compare Hebrew עֲלִיָּה ('alīyá, “ascent”), Arabic عَالِيَة (ʕāliya, “high, exalted”).

## What it means

Alaia is grouped under joy.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 46 | 3,452 |
| 2012 | 54 | 3,097 |
| 2013 | 55 | 3,006 |
| 2014 | 66 | 2,650 |
| 2015 | 429 | 664 |
| 2016 | 487 | 615 |
| 2017 | 461 | 638 |
| 2018 | 527 | 583 |
| 2019 | 1,604 | 184 |
| 2020 | 2,282 | 120 |
| 2021 | 2,219 | 128 |
| 2022 | 2,081 | 139 |
| 2023 | 2,305 | 120 |
| 2024 | 2,429 | 112 |
| 2025 | 2,318 | 117 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 6 | 10,654 |
| 2022 | 5 | 12,433 |
| 2025 | 6 | 10,739 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 2,025 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,969 |
| 2013 | 20 | 1,537 |
| 2014 | 28 | 1,204 |
| 2015 | 32 | 1,088 |
| 2016 | 33 | 1,057 |
| 2017 | 28 | 1,219 |
| 2018 | 36 | 990 |
| 2019 | 104 | 402 |
| 2020 | 181 | 262 |
| 2021 | 163 | 292 |
| 2022 | 170 | 270 |
| 2023 | 142 | 306 |
| 2024 | 171 | 275 |
| 2025 | 163 | 279 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.