Ayala
Feminine · “doe”
Ayala is a doe in Hebrew — and the Psalms compare a soul longing for God to a deer panting for water.
How old is the name Ayala?
Ayala first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Ayala is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,200 people named Ayala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ayala most popular?
Ayala peaked in 2025, reaching #2354 nationally. Today it ranks #2354, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ayalah to Ayala
The story of Ayala
Psalm 42 opens with a deer panting for streams of water, and the Hebrew word is the same one behind Ayala. The name is standard in modern Israel. A separate Basque Ayala is a place and a noble house in Álava. Both routes reach American records, where the name is in current use.
Meaning
doe, female deer
From the Hebrew ayalah, 'doe' or 'hind', related to ayil, 'ram', and elah, 'terebinth' — a cluster of words around strength and standing. A separate Basque and Spanish surname Ayala exists from a place name. The Hebrew is documented.
How the name formed
- ayalah
- Ayala
Related forms: אילה · Ayala · Ayelet
Pronouncing Ayala
ah-YAH-lah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hebrew stresses the last, a-ya-LAH.
Nicknames for Ayala
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
- 1974
- Most girls named
- 202577 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2354reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +54.0%77 in 2025, from 50
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.
Ayala in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- אילה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Ayala in Spanish — related form
- Ayelet in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey, California.
Ayalas among us
people named Ayala are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 20,874 born in 2025 was named Ayala
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jayana test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Ayala's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jayana climbed just as high around 2008, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jayana's path sketches the road Ayala is walking now.
Ayala 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
Where Ayala is headed
Ayala should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Ayala beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ayala in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Psalm 42 image of the panting deer is a first-rate literary anchor.
- The doe meaning is concrete and gentle.
- Aya is available as a short form that is a real name elsewhere.
- The Hebrew and Basque routes are entirely unrelated.
- Hebrew and English stress it differently.
- It reads as a surname to Spanish speakers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Ayala
Feminine · #2354 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ayalas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Ayala are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ayala in 2025?
- Ayala ranks #2354 among US girl names in 2025, with 77 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ayala?
- About 1 in every 20,874 US girls born in 2025 was named Ayala — 77 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ayala with classmates?
- Ayala will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ayala
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eunice#2354 · Ameena#2354 · Adilynn#2354 · Alyza#2354 · Klani#2354 · Roxana#2354 · Laniyah#2354 · Aislyn#2354
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ayala? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ayala and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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