Head to head · Boys' names
Alijah vs Azariah
#469 vs #472 in 2025
Alijah is a whisker ahead (#469 vs #472 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alijah is holding its place on the charts, Azariah is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Azariah has the edge.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Alijah leads 4 measures of 6; Azariah leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1970s: Alijah —, Azariah #5379 — Azariah higher
- 1980s: Alijah #6946, Azariah #5281 — Azariah higher
- 1990s: Alijah #2858, Azariah #3766 — Alijah higher
- 2000s: Alijah #658, Azariah #1942 — Alijah higher
- 2010s: Alijah #481, Azariah #919 — Alijah higher
- 2020s: Alijah #444, Azariah #584 — Alijah higher
Alijah stood higher in 4 of 6 decades; Alijah has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alijah | Azariah |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | — | #5379 |
| 1980s | #6946 | #5281 |
| 1990s | #2858 | #3766 |
| 2000s | #658 | #1942 |
| 2010s | #481 | #919 |
| 2020s | #444 | #584 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alijah
Read through Elijah: Hebrew "my God is Yahweh"
Two roads meet at this spelling. Most often it is a respelling of Elijah, from Hebrew Eliyahu, "my God is Yahweh." It can also be read as an anglicized form of Alija, the Bosnian and Albanian form of Arabic Ali, "high, exalted." The spelling itself is recent enough that no single reading has been settled for it, and plenty of families choose it precisely because it holds both.
Eliyahu → Elias → Elijah → Alijah
How it traveled
Eliyahu belongs to the prophet of the Books of Kings, who confronts King Ahab and is carried off in a whirlwind — one of the most dramatic figures in the Hebrew scriptures. The Greek translators wrote him as Elias, which is how he reached Latin, then most of Christian Europe; English settled on Elijah, and Puritan families in England and colonial America made it an everyday given name rather than a scriptural one.
Azariah
Yahweh has helped
From Hebrew ʿazar, "to help," joined to the divine name Yah. The same root sits inside Ezra and Azriel.
ʿĂzaryāh (Hebrew) → Azarias (Greek) → Azarias (Latin) → Azariah (English)
How it traveled
The name comes from Hebrew ʿĂzaryāh and appears repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible, carried by kings, priests and scribes — among them the young man in the book of Daniel renamed Abednego in Babylon. Greek translators wrote it Azarias, Latin kept that form, and English Bible translators restored the Hebrew ending as -iah, which is the spelling used today.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alijah
uh-LY-juh
Said like Elijah, with the stress on the middle syllable. Because it begins with A, some readers try AL-ih-juh or ah-LEE-uh on first sight, so a quick correction is often part of introductions.
- Ali — Informal, and a long-established given name in its own right across the Muslim world and beyond.
- AJ — Initial-based and informal; widely used in American English for any A-plus-J pairing.
- Lijah — Informal, shared with Elijah; family use more than school use.
- Jah — Informal and playful, used mainly within families.
- Also Eli.
Azariah
az-uh-RYE-uh
That is the standard English reading, stress on the third syllable. In Hebrew and in most other languages it is closer to ah-zar-YAH, so relatives abroad may say it differently.
- Ari — The most portable short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Zay — Informal, shared with Zaid and Zayden; common among children now.
- Az — Very informal, mostly used by friends and siblings.
- Zaria — Used more often for girls; also exists as a full given name.
- Also Ria.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alijah if you want…
- a name holding steadyAlijah is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesAlijah is 3 syllables to Azariah's 4
Choose Azariah if you want…
- a name on the way upup 206 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAzariah runs 4 syllables, Alijah 3
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alijah
Strengths
- Sounds completely familiar even to people seeing the spelling for the first time — the Elijah pattern does the work.
- Several ready-made short forms, including Ali and AJ, both already in real use as names on their own.
- Sits naturally in Hebrew, Christian and Muslim naming traditions, which few names manage at once.
To consider
- It will be autocorrected and rewritten as Elijah for life. Spelling it out will become routine, and forms, teachers and coffee cups will often get the E instead of the A.
- The first vowel is genuinely ambiguous on sight, so expect a mix of uh-LY-juh, AL-ih-juh and ah-LEE-uh until people are told.
- Nearly everyone carrying this spelling is young, so there is no adult generation of Alijahs to point to yet — an advantage or a blank, depending on what you want from a name.
Azariah
Strengths
- The spelling is the one used in English Bibles, so it is findable and defensible even where the name itself is unfamiliar.
- Its meaning is settled rather than guessed at, which is not true of every ancient name.
- Several ready-made short forms — Ari, Zay, Az — all in real use.
To consider
- Expect to spell it out. Azaria, Azariya and Azariyah all circulate, and the final -h is the piece people drop.
- Two pronunciations compete: az-uh-RYE-uh in English, ah-zar-YAH closer to the Hebrew. Pick one early and say it first when you introduce the child.
- It is given to both boys and girls, but the boys' side is considerably larger. A girl named Azariah will meet forms and teachers that assume otherwise, which is manageable but worth expecting.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alijah and Azariah in full.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Names with a Z in them
- The names with the most spellings
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- all guides
Where Alijah and Azariah each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alijah or Azariah — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alijah or Azariah?
- Alijah, in 2025: Alijah ranked #469 with 651 babies; Azariah ranked #472 with 645 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alijah or Azariah?
- Azariah. Over the last five years Alijah moved down 22 places; Azariah moved up 206 places.
- Which is the older name, Alijah or Azariah?
- Alijah entered the US charts in 1987; Azariah entered the US charts in 1972. On the American record, Azariah is the older name.
- How many people are named Alijah and Azariah?
- About 14,000 people named Alijah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,500 people named Azariah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alijahs or Azariahs in the classroom?
- Alijah will almost certainly be the only one in school. Azariah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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