Abdulla
Masculine · “Arabic "servant of God”
Abdulla is the most-used name construction in the Muslim world, and it is a two-word phrase. Abd means servant or slave; Allah is God; and ʿAbd Allāh is servant of God — the name the Prophet is reported to have called the most beloved to God, and the name of his own father.
How old is the name Abdulla?
Abdulla first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Abdulla alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 500 people named Abdulla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Abdulla most popular?
Abdulla peaked in 1987, reaching #3521 nationally. Today it ranks #7194, 3,673 places below that high. See the whole 1987 chart.
Where it comes from
From عبد الله (ʿAbd Allāh) to Abdulla
The story of Abdulla
The abd- construction is the single most productive naming pattern in Arabic and it carries a theological point: the relationship named is servitude to God, and the second element must be a divine name or attribute. Abdullah is the simplest form. It is used from Morocco to Indonesia and appears in American records under many romanisations — Abdullah, Abdulla, Abdallah, Abdulahi. The final h is silent in English, and its presence or absence distinguishes the spellings without changing the sound. The 1987 American peak reflects immigration and American Muslim communities alike.
Meaning
Arabic "servant of God"
From ʿabd, a servant or slave, and Allāh, God. The construction is fully productive: ʿAbd al-Rahman is servant of the Merciful, ʿAbd al-Karim servant of the Generous, and so on across the ninety-nine names of God. The etymology is entirely settled. The doubled l in Abdulla reflects the doubled letter in Allāh.
How the name formed
- عبد اللهʿAbd Allāh
- Abdullah
- Abdulla
Related forms: عبد الله · Abdullah · Abdullah · Cabdulaahi · عبداللہ
Pronouncing Abdulla
ab-DUH-lah
Three or four syllables depending on the dialect, with the stress on the second. The doubled l in Allāh is genuinely held longer in Arabic. English speakers usually say ab-DOO-luh, which is close enough.
Nicknames for Abdulla
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1976
- Most boys named
- 200022 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3521reached in 1987
- Change vs 2024
- −8.3%11 in 2025, from 12
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Abdulla in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- عبد الله in Arabic — same name
- Abdullah in Turkish — same name
- Abdullah in Indonesian — same name
- Cabdulaahi in Somali — same name
- عبداللہ in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Abdullas among us
people named Abdulla are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 155,280 born in 2025 was named Abdulla
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Abdulla
- #7194
- Abdulla on the 2025 chart
- #603
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Abdulla went to 11 boys in 2025, but Abdullah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 348, which makes it the 603rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 6,591 places above the chart.
- Abdullah337
- Abdulla11
About 1 boy in 4,908 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 155,280 for Abdulla itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jayde test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Abdulla's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jayde climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jayde's path sketches the road Abdulla is walking now.
Abdulla sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Abdulla beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Abdulla in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, theologically central, and understood by well over a billion people.
- Abdu and Abdi are both established short forms in different regions.
- It is one of the most widely used names in the world.
- At least six romanisations are in American use.
- The religious content is explicit and specific.
- It is three or four syllables, which is long for daily use.
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What they receive
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Abdulla
Masculine · #7194 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Abdullas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Abdulla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Abdulla?
- Abdulla is one of 2 recorded spellings. Abdullah is the more common one — 337 births in 2025 against 11 for Abdulla.
- How popular is the name Abdulla in 2025?
- Abdulla ranks #7194 among US boy names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Abdulla?
- About 1 in every 155,280 US boys born in 2025 was named Abdulla — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Abdulla with classmates?
- Abdulla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Abdulla
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Junius#7194 · Orie#7194 · Shade#7194 · Chesley#7194 · Joesph#7194 · Lofton#7194 · Macon#7194 · Benjiman#7194
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Abdulla? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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