Aaliyah
Aaliyah is a girls' name of Arabic origin meaning “exalted, sublime, highest social standing.” It ranked #60 in the United States in 2025. A name with deep roots in Arabic culture signifying loftiness and nobility.
how do you pronounce Aaliyah?
ah-LEE-yah
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Aaliyah mean?
The name Aaliyah means “exalted, sublime, highest social standing.” It comes from the Arabic language tradition.
A name with deep roots in Arabic culture signifying loftiness and nobility. It rose to widespread popularity in the United States largely through the influence of the R&B singer Aaliyah Dana Haughton.
where does the name Aaliyah come from?
From the Arabic عالية ('āliya), the feminine form of 'Alī, built on the triliteral root ʿ-L-W meaning to be high, to rise, or to be exalted. It shares that root with words for elevation and ascent, so the name literally reads as she who is elevated.
the history of Aaliyah
Long established across the Arabic-speaking world, Aaliyah entered mainstream English-speaking use in the 1990s and climbed sharply after the American singer Aaliyah Haughton reached international fame. Her death in 2001 at twenty-two fixed the name in a generation's memory, and it has stayed inside the American top 100 for most of the years since.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024 | #60 |
| 2023 | #57 |
| 2022 | #55 |
| 2021 | #54 |
| 2020 | #51 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Aaliyah?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Aaliyah?
- Aaliyah Dana Haughton (singer)
- Aaliyah Hadid (model)
what names are similar to Aaliyah?
what names go well with Aaliyah?
Sibling names that share Aaliyah's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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