Alla
Feminine
Alla is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,192 girls against 10 boys since 1880.
Alla is one of the standard Russian women's names and nobody knows where it came from. It appears in Russian use without an obvious ancestor — the proposals include a Gothic word, a Greek one and a shortened form of a longer name, and none of them holds up. It is also, in English-language settings, one letter from an Arabic word, and that resemblance is entirely accidental.
How old is the name Alla?
Alla was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Alla alive today was born around 1934, making them about 91 years old. About 500 people named Alla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alla most popular?
Alla peaked in 1881, reaching #679 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 14,263 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Alla
Alla became a common Russian women's name in the twentieth century, particularly from the 1950s onward, and it is entirely ordinary in Russia and Ukraine today. Its earlier history is thin: there is a martyr of the name in the Orthodox calendar, from a Gothic community in the fourth century, and that may be the whole of it. American records carry Alla from before 1880 in small numbers and it has stayed rare, arriving with Russian and Ukrainian families.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No derivation has been established. Russian reference works offer several: a Gothic origin, a connection to a Greek word for other, and a shortening of Albina or Alevtina. None is demonstrated. The Arabic word for God, which the letters resemble, is a separate word in a separate language and is not related to this name in any way.
Pronouncing Alla
AH-lah
Two syllables, stress on the first, both vowels open. Russian says it the same way. English speakers occasionally say AL-uh with a flatter first vowel, which is the only common variation.
Nicknames for Alla
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192725 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #679reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −16.7%5 in 2025, from 6
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.
Alla in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alla in Russian — same name
- Alla in Ukrainian — same name
Allas among us
people named Alla are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Alla
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Alla
- #14942
- Alla on the 2025 chart
- #880
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Alla went to 5 girls in 2025, but Alaa, Ala and Aalaa are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 80, which makes it the 880th most-given girls’ name of the year — 14,062 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 20,091 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 321,453 for Alla 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
Fashion outlook
Alla 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
Alla beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alla in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two open syllables — it fits any form and any accent.
- It is entirely standard in Russia and Ukraine rather than a variation on something.
- There is nothing to shorten, which some families find restful.
- It is recorded for boys as well as girls, though nearly all are girls.
- It is one letter from the Arabic word for God, and English speakers will occasionally make the connection out loud.
- Its origin genuinely cannot be given, which is unusual for a name this widely used somewhere.
- Ella, Ala and Aila all sit close by and will be written instead.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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Alla
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Allas 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 Alla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Alla?
- Alla is one of 4 recorded spellings. Alaa is the more common one — 49 births in 2025 against 5 for Alla.
- How popular is the name Alla in 2025?
- Alla ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alla?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Alla — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alla with classmates?
- Alla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alla
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alla? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alla and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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