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Iylah

Feminine · “moonlight”

2007high 2022
#2076 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare90 girls in 2025

Iylah respells Ayla, which is Turkish for moonlight and Hebrew for an oak — two real words that arrive at the same sound.

How old is the name Iylah?

Iylah first appears in US birth records in 2007 — 18 years ago. The typical Iylah is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Iylah are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Iylah most popular?

Iylah peaked in 2025, reaching #2076 nationally. Today it ranks #2076, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.

Compare this nameMore “I” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Iylah

Turkish ayla names the ring of light around the moon. Hebrew ayla names an oak, and separately a doe — the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath is named for the tree. Both traditions use the name, and the Iylah respelling is a modern English variant appearing in the registers in current use.

Meaningscholars disagree

moonlight; oak

Two genuine sources. The Turkish ayla, 'halo' or 'moonlight', from ay, 'moon'. And the Hebrew elah or ayla, an oak or terebinth, also a doe. Both are ordinary vocabulary in their languages. The Iylah spelling is modern and does not distinguish them.

How the name formed

  1. ayla
  2. Iylah

Related forms: Ayla · אילה · Ayla

Pronouncing Iylah

EYE-luh

Two syllables, stress on the first. Turkish Ayla is AY-lah with fuller vowels.

Nicknames for Iylah

Moderate

IyThe front sound alone, used inside families rather than generally
LahThe back of the name, used inside families rather than generally
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

GIRLS NAMED · 2007–202591460919020072025

US babies named Iylah per year from 2007 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#20762000s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
2007
Most girls named
202291 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#2076reached in 2025
Change vs 2024
+21.6%90 in 2025, from 74
Iylah sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2022, with 91 girls. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Iylah in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Ayla in Turkish — related form
  • אילה in Hebrew — related form
  • Ayla in English — spelling variant

Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Michigan.

Iylahs among us

700

people named Iylah are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 girl in 17,859 born in 2025 was named Iylah

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Iylah

#2076
Iylah on the 2025 chart
#285
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Iylah went to 90 girls in 2025, but Iyla, Ila and Ilah and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 5 spellings went to 1,116, which makes it the 285th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,791 places above the chart.

About 1 girl in 1,440 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 17,859 for Iylah 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

III

Is it right for you

The Laurita test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Iylah's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laurita climbed just as high around 1954, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laurita's path sketches the road Iylah is walking now.

40%chance Iylah will feel “very 2020s” by 2040
Iylah, aligned on its peakLaurita· peak 1954not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-40 yrs+40 yrsLaurita · #8876Iylah today
Iylah today is about where Laurita stood in 1954 — in its own peak year. By 1969, Laurita had settled around #4488.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Iylah 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 Iylah is headed

20072030

US babies named Iylah per year, 2007 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Iylah should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.

Steady+9% by 2030projected around #2,062 in 2030

Low 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.

Iylah beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Iylah in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Iylahthis name90#2076Acelynn90#2076Shaindy90#2076Everlynn90#2076Blayke90#2076

US girls given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • Both source words — moonlight and oak — are concrete and attractive.
  • The Valley of Elah connection is a genuinely good detail.
  • Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk once heard.
What to consider
  • Ayla is the standard spelling in both traditions.
  • The Iylah spelling gives no guide to the sound.
  • At least four spellings of the sound are in circulation.

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Iylah

Feminine · #2076 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Iylahs are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Iylah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Iylah?
Iylah is one of 5 recorded spellings. Iyla is the more common one — 572 births in 2025 against 90 for Iylah.
How popular is the name Iylah in 2025?
Iylah ranks #2076 among US girl names in 2025, with 90 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Iylah?
About 1 in every 17,859 US girls born in 2025 was named Iylah — 90 in all.
Will my child share the name Iylah with classmates?
Iylah will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Iylah

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Acelynn#2076 · Shaindy#2076 · Everlynn#2076 · Blayke#2076 · Scotland#2076 · Lilyann#2076 · Taliah#2076 · Fiorella#2076

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iylah? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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