How popular is the baby name Aaliyah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Aaliyah.

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Popularity of the baby name Aaliyah


Posts that mention the name Aaliyah

Popular baby names in New York City, 2012

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

Two years ago, New York City welcomed 123,231 babies — 63,231 baby boys and exactly 60,000 (!) baby girls.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sophia and Jayden, according to New York City’s Health Department.

Here are NYC’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2012:

Girl names

  1. Sophia, 607 baby girls
  2. Isabella, 565
  3. Emma, 480
  4. Olivia, 475
  5. Emily, 474
  6. Mia, 436
  7. Chloe, 401
  8. Madison, 392
  9. Leah, 379
  10. Ava, 339
  11. Sarah, 333
  12. Abigail, 311
  13. Sofia, 300
  14. Victoria, 265
  15. Ashley, 250
  16. Elizabeth, 248
  17. Rachel, 243
  18. Samantha, 236
  19. Zoe, 234
  20. Esther, 232
  21. Ella, 227
  22. Maya, 220
  23. Gabriella, 212
  24. Hailey, 211
  25. Grace, 182
  26. Hannah, 181 (tie)
  27. Sara, 181 (tie)
  28. Kayla, 177
  29. Chaya, 175
  30. Brianna, 172
  31. Camila, 171
  32. Alexandra, 170
  33. Amelia, 168
  34. Arianna, 167
  35. Miriam, 164
  36. Charlotte, 163
  37. Lily, 161
  38. Kaylee, 158
  39. Chana, 157
  40. Sophie, 156
  41. Melanie, 154
  42. Nicole, 147
  43. Anna, 145
  44. Michelle, 144
  45. Alexa, 142
  46. Evelyn, 141
  47. Eva, 140
  48. Angelina, 139 (tie)
  49. Genesis, 139 (tie)
  50. Aaliyah, 137

Boy names

  1. Jayden, 760 baby boys
  2. Ethan, 732
  3. Jacob, 651
  4. Daniel, 626
  5. Matthew, 596
  6. Michael, 592
  7. Aiden, 591
  8. David, 578
  9. Ryan, 565
  10. Alexander, 546
  11. Joseph, 541
  12. Justin, 465
  13. Mason, 459
  14. Noah, 451
  15. Dylan, 447
  16. Anthony, 433
  17. Joshua, 429
  18. Liam, 399
  19. Lucas, 396
  20. Benjamin, 356
  21. William, 355
  22. Samuel, 354
  23. Christopher, 352
  24. Andrew, 349
  25. Aaron, 348
  26. Kevin, 346
  27. Christian, 342
  28. Jonathan, 339
  29. James, 338
  30. Nicholas, 336
  31. Sebastian, 311
  32. Gabriel, 305
  33. Brandon, 292
  34. Jason, 286
  35. John, 283
  36. Jeremiah, 280
  37. Elijah, 267
  38. Adrian, 257 (3-way tie)
  39. Angel, 257 (3-way tie)
  40. Tyler, 257 (3-way tie)
  41. Adam, 255
  42. Isaac, 254
  43. Nathan, 244
  44. Moshe, 243
  45. Henry, 242
  46. Jack, 238
  47. Evan, 231 (tie)
  48. Julian, 231 (tie)
  49. Eric, 216
  50. Jeremy, 213

The top baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…

Top girl namesTop boy names
Hispanic1. Isabella, 327
2. Sophia, 236
3. Mia, 207
4. Emily, 186
5. Sofia, 165		1. Jayden, 364
2. Jacob, 293
3. Matthew, 279
4. Ethan, 254
5. Angel, 236
Asian and Pacific Islander1. Chloe, 172
2. Sophia, 144
3. Olivia, 132
4. Emily, 110
5. Emma, 97		1. Ryan, 197
2. Ethan, 187 (tie)
3. Jayden, 187 (tie)
4. Lucas, 129
5. Justin, 125
Non-Hispanic White1. Emma, 228
2. Leah, 219
3. Sarah, 209
4. Olivia, 198 (tie)
5. Sophia, 198 (tie)		1. Joseph, 300
2. David, 289
3. Michael, 245
4. Jacob, 242
5. Moshe, 238
Non-Hispanic Black1. Madison, 159
2. London, 87
3. Taylor, 71
4. Chloe, 70
5. Abigail, 66		1. Jayden, 171
2. Aiden, 156
3. Ethan, 151
4. Jeremiah, 141
5. Joshua, 124

Among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC two years ago were the girl names Aura, Gina, Nashla, Sabine, and Zi, and the boy names Cheskel, Howard, Jencarlos, Nikolai, and Warren.

One year earlier, in 2011, NYC’s top names (overall) were Isabella and Jayden.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

[Latest update: Jan. 2026]

Popular baby names in Malta, 2012

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

The most popular baby names in Malta were released back in May.

According to the National Statistics Office, the country’s top names (or name groups, actually) were Matthew/Matthias/Matteo for boys and Eliza/Lisa/Elsie/Elyse/Bettina for girls.

Here are Malta’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl Names

  1. Eliza/Lisa/Elsie/Elyse/Bettina, 98 baby girls
  2. Elena/Elenia/Helena/Ella, 91
  3. Julia/Yulia/Julianne, 67
  4. Emma/Emmanuela/Ema, 54
  5. Maya/Mia/Myah, 47
  6. Lea/Leah/Leia, 46
  7. Christina/Christa/Christabel/Krystle, 45
  8. Mikela/Makaila/Michelle, 44
  9. Chloe/Khloe, Maria/Marija/Mariah/Marie, 39 each [2-way tie]
  10. Amy/Aimee, 37
  11. Kailey/Kai/Kaleigh, 34
  12. Martina/Martine, 32
  13. Catherine/Katrina/Kate/Katya, 30
  14. Jade/Giada, 28
  15. Anna/Hannah/Ann, 27
  16. Amber/Amberley, Sophia/Sophie, 24 each [2-way tie]
  17. Jasmine/Yasmine/Yasmeen, Chanel/Shanelle, 23 each [2-way tie]
  18. Emilia/Emily/Emelie, 21
  19. Hailey/Hailee/Hayleigh, Alison/Alice/Alicia/Alyssa/Aly, Faith, 19 each [3-way tie]
  20. Aaliyah/Alaya, 18

Boy Names

  1. Matthew/Matthias/Matteo, 101 baby boys
  2. Jacob/Jake, 98
  3. Luke/Luca/Lucas, 87
  4. Zachary/Zak/Zack, 58
  5. Kaiden/Kayden/Kai, 56
  6. John/Jean/Jonathan/Juan/Gan, 50
  7. Aiden/Ayden, 47
  8. Nathan/Nathaniel, 45
  9. Isaac/Izaak, Liam/William, 43 each [2-way tie]
  10. Alexander/Alessandro/Alec, 42
  11. Benjamin/Ben, 40
  12. Michael/Miguel/Mikhail, 39
  13. Nicholas/Nick/Nicolai, 36
  14. Jaden/Jayden/Jadon, Joseph/Beppe/Giuseppe/Josef, 35 each [2-way tie]
  15. Daniel/Dan/Danil, 30
  16. Yannick/Yan, Jack/Jackson/Jacques, Thomas/Tommas/Tommy, 29 each [3-way tie]
  17. Mason/Maison, Kyle/Kail, Andrew/Andreas/Andre/Andy, 28 each [3-way tie]
  18. James/Jamie/Jayme, 26
  19. Gabriel/Gabrijel/Gabryl, 24
  20. Julian/Julien/Guiliano, Denzel/Danzel/Denzilee, 22 each [2-way tie]

The 98 baby girls of the Eliza/Lisa/Elsie/Elyse/Bettina group represent 4.8% of all baby girls born in Malta in 2012, and the 101 baby boys of the Matthew/Matthias/Matteo group represent 4.6% of all baby boys.

I have three earlier Malta lists (2006, 2007, 2009) here at NBN, but there are even more (2002 through 2012, inclusive) at the NSO website — use the link below.

Source: Naming Babies: 2012 (NSO)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)

Top girl-name debuts of all time in the U.S. baby name data (31-40)

lotus bud

Time for baby name debuts, part 2!

From 40 to 31:

Chimere & Naidelyn, 2-way tie for #40

  • Chimere debuted with 78 baby girls in 1979.
    Inspired by the Prince Matchabelli perfume Chimere.
  • Naidelyn debuted with 78 baby girls in 1998.
    Inspired by Naidelyn Navarrete, an actress on the telenovela Maria Isabel.

Joyel & Tynisa, 2-way tie for #39

  • Joyel debuted with 79 baby girls in 1975.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Joyelle, a character on the soap opera How to Survive a Marriage. (Thank you C in DC!)
  • Tynisa debuted with 79 baby girls in 1976.
    Inspired by the song “Tynisa (Goddess of Love)” by Major Harris.

Audreanna, #38

  • Audreanna debuted with 80 baby girls in 1989.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Adriana, a character on the soap opera Santa Barbara. (Thank you C in DC!)

Leilene, #37

  • Leilene debuted with 81 baby girls in 2007.
    Inspired by Leilene Ondrade, a contestant on the reality TV show Flavor of Love.

Evolet, #36

  • Evolet debuted with 82 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Evolet, a character in the movie 10,000 BC.

Joyelle & Trenyce, 2-way tie for #35

  • Joyelle debuted with 88 baby girls in 1975.
    I’m not sure what inspired it. Same reason as #39.
  • Trenyce debuted with 88 baby girls in 2003.
    Inspired by singer Trenyce.

Irania & Shelva, 2-way tie for #34

  • Irania debuted with 89 baby girls in 1995.
    Inspired by Irania Paniagua, a character on the telenovela Maria Celeste.
  • Shelva debuted with 89 baby girls in 1936.
    Inspired by Shelby Barret, a character in the movie The Woman in Red.

Latrenda, #33

Aideliz, Camreigh, Rosangelica & Unnamed, 4-way tie for #32

  • Aideliz debuted with 91 baby girls in 2008.
    Inspired by Aideliz Hidalgo, a contestant on the TV beauty pageant Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008.
  • Camreigh debuted with 91 baby girls 2017.
    I’m not sure what inspired it.
  • Rosangelica debuted with 91 baby girls in 1993.
    Inspired by Rosangelica, a character on the telenovela Rosangelica.
  • Unnamed debuted with 91 baby girls in 1989.
    No inspiration; possibly related to the baby name glitch of 1989.

Alliyah, & Dalett, 2-way tie for #31

  • Alliyah debuted with 94 baby girls in 1994.
    Inspired by singer Aaliyah.
  • Dalett debuted with 94 baby girls in 2010.
    Inspired by a baby from the reality TV show Larrymania.

Do you have any thoughts on Latrenda, Audreanna, or Joyelle/Joyel?

More of the top 50 baby name debuts for girls: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

[Latest update: 7/2021]

Popular baby names in the United States, 2012

Flag of the United States
Flag of the United States

The #1 names in the nation are still Jacob and Sophia!

Here are the full top 50 lists:

Boy NamesGirl Names
1. Jacob, 18899
2. Mason, 18856
3. Ethan, 17547
4. Noah, 17201
5. William, 16726
6. Liam, 16687
7. Jayden, 16013
8. Michael, 15996
9. Alexander, 15105
10. Aiden, 14779
11. Daniel, 14143
12. Matthew, 13834
13. Elijah, 13719
14. James, 13271
15. Anthony, 13105
16. Benjamin, 12695
17. Joshua, 12522
18. Andrew, 12501
19. David, 12422
20. Joseph, 12404
21. Logan, 12390
22. Jackson, 12388
23. Christopher, 11777
24. Gabriel, 11442
25. Samuel, 11290
26. Ryan, 10863
27. Lucas, 10616
28. John, 10505
29. Nathan, 10357
30. Isaac, 9928
31. Dylan, 9920
32. Caleb, 9867
33. Christian, 9530
34. Landon, 9296
35. Jonathan, 9253
36. Carter, 9202
37. Luke, 8922
38. Owen, 8630
39. Brayden, 8451
40. Gavin, 8203
41. Wyatt, 8159
42. Isaiah, 8044
43. Henry, 8006
44. Eli, 7998
45. Hunter, 7967
46. Jack, 7877
47. Evan, 7851
48. Jordan, 7734
49. Nicholas, 7653
50. Tyler, 7628		1. Sophia, 22158
2. Emma, 20791
3. Isabella, 18931
4. Olivia, 17147
5. Ava, 15418
6. Emily, 13550
7. Abigail, 12583
8. Mia, 11940
9. Madison, 11319
10. Elizabeth, 9596
11. Chloe, 9595
12. Ella, 9115
13. Avery, 8272
14. Addison, 8122
15. Aubrey, 8006
16. Lily, 7889
17. Natalie, 7852
18. Sofia, 7767
19. Charlotte, 7418
20. Zoey, 7411
21. Grace, 7304
22. Hannah, 7202
23. Amelia, 7191
24. Harper, 7154
25. Lillian, 7100
26. Samantha, 6874
27. Evelyn, 6837
28. Victoria, 6814
29. Brooklyn, 6728
30. Zoe, 6383
31. Layla, 6227
32. Hailey, 5878
33. Leah, 5724
34. Kaylee, 5571
35. Anna, 5552
36. Aaliyah, 5471
37. Gabriella, 5461
38. Allison, 5387
39. Nevaeh, 5317
40. Alexis, 5306
41. Audrey, 5266
42. Savannah, 5143
43. Sarah, 5107
44. Alyssa, 5054
45. Claire, 4915
46. Taylor, 4825
47. Riley, 4786
48. Camila, 4776
49. Arianna, 4685
50. Ashley, 4678

Liam enters the top 10! 15th last year, 6th this year.

Michael just keeps getting lower and lower.

Avery, on the other hand, keeps rising on the girls’ side — 18th last year, 13th this year.

See any other interesting rises/drops so far?

Update: Here’s more from the SSA’s news release:

Many pop-culture naming trends appear in a popular feature of Social Security’s baby names website–the “change in popularity” page. This year’s winners for biggest jump in popularity in the Top 500 are Major and Arya.

The fastest riser on the girls’ list may have been influenced by the popular cable TV series “Game of Thrones.” Arya is the daughter of a leader of one of the Seven Kingdoms. She also is an expert sword fighter, so doubt her influence on the popular names list at your own risk.

For the boys, parents may associate Major with the military title. Acting Commissioner Colvin added “I have no doubt Major’s rising popularity as a boy’s name is in tribute to the brave members of the U.S. military, and maybe we’ll see more boys named General in the future.” You also might trace Major’s increase in popularity to a cable TV show. “Home by Novogratz” is a popular home design show featuring Major Novogratz, the youngest son of designers Robert and Cortney.

The second fastest riser for boys was Gael, and for girls, Perla. Both names most likely are on the rise due to the increase in the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Perla is the Latinized version of Pearl and is popular among Hispanic-Americans. Gael’s popularity could be tied to Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here is last year’s list.

Sources: SSA, Jacob and Sophia Repeat atop Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names List – SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United States (public domain)