A Name Story by Houdhoud
عَالِيَة
Aaliyah
aa-LEE-yah
“High, exalted.”
About Aaliyah
Aaliyah is a Muslim baby girl's name meaning "high, exalted", an Arabic name carried for centuries across the Muslim world.
From the Arabic root ع-ل-و meaning 'to be high'. Feminine of Ali. Variant of Aliya.
Beloved across Arab, South Asian, and African American Muslim families.
Spellings of Aaliyah
عَالِيَة is one name, written in Latin letters in more than one way. Every spelling below is the same name.
| Spelling | Births in England and Wales, 2025 | Births in France, 2016 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Aaliyahthe spelling used on this page | 368 | 2,620 |
| Aliyah | 125 | 4,820 |
| Aliya | 80 | 4,070 |
| Aaliya | 34 | 190 |
| Alia | Shared with another name, not counted here | |
Babies registered with exactly that spelling. England and Wales: Office for National Statistics, 2025 (the list covers names given to 3 or more babies). France: INSEE Fichier des prénoms, 2016 to 2025 added together (INSEE rounds each yearly count to the nearest 5).
Origin & roots
Origin
Arabic
Gender
Girl
Root letters
In Arabic, root letters are the seed that gives a word its meaning. Every word built from them inherits that family of meaning, and Aaliyah is one such word.
How to say it
Stressed syllable in capitals
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Common questions about Aaliyah
- What does the name Aaliyah mean?
- Aaliyah (عَالِيَة) means "High, exalted". From the Arabic root ع-ل-و meaning 'to be high'. Feminine of Ali. Variant of Aliya.
- Is Aaliyah a name from the Qur'an?
- Houdhoud doesn't show a verse for this name. Aaliyah is an Arabic name long carried across the Muslim world. We only show a Qur'anic verse when it's verified against the Tanzil corpus.
- Is Aaliyah a boy or a girl name?
- Aaliyah is traditionally a girl's name.
- Where does the name Aaliyah come from?
- Aaliyah is an Arabic name, built on the root letters ʿ-L-W. Beloved across Arab, South Asian, and African American Muslim families.
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Collections Aaliyah belongs to.
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