Aela
Aela was the 2778th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 2694th with 64 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,368 places. More babies were named Aela in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Ayla) Origin uncertain · Turkish, Hebrew
- Rank in 2025
- #2,778 girls, up 72 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 61girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 202464 babies
- Total since 1880
- 708babies recorded
What does the name Aela mean?
Aela is a spelling of Ayla, pronounced the same way, so it shares Ayla's meaning and origin.
Ayla has at least two separate sources. In Turkish it is a common girl's name usually explained as the halo of light around the moon, from ay, 'moon'; Wikipedia gives that meaning. In Hebrew, Ela or Ayla (אֵלָה) is the word for the terebinth, a tree of the pistachio family, and Wikipedia notes that the name is also linked with the oak. Wikipedia also mentions related Turkish names built on ay, such as Aylin.
ay (Turkish, “moon”)אֵלָה (Hebrew, “ela, terebinth tree”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Two independent sources (Turkish and Hebrew); the Turkish 'moon halo' gloss is a popular explanation that we could not confirm in a dictionary.
Related names: Aila, Aylah, Eila, Ela, Isla.
Sources for this meaning
- Wikipedia, 'Ayla (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'אלה', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Aela popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,778 | 61 |
| 2020 | #2,850 | 57 |
| 2010 | #10,471 | 10 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Aela, counting every spelling?
Aela is a spelling of Ayla, a name family that ranked #70 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,778 for Aela on its own. Together these spellings went to 4,015 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayla | 3,149 | #77 | 14,302 |
| Aila | 329 | #827 | 1,782 |
| Aylah | 170 | #1,310 | 925 |
| Eila | 113 | #1,783 | 623 |
| Aayla | 43 | #3,517 | 322 |
| Aella | 35 | #4,068 | 306 |
| Aela | 61 | #2,778 | 292 |
| Aylla | 48 | #3,259 | 176 |
| Ailah | 30 | #4,549 | 172 |
| Eilah | 18 | #6,384 | 107 |
| Aaila | 8 | #10,918 | 51 |
| Aaylah | 5 | #14,954 | 37 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Aela?
61 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Aela (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Aela born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 138 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Aela.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Aela?
About 700 people born in the US named Aela are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 3 and 11. That makes Aela a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Aela by state
How common Aela was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 45 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Aela: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Aela, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Aela
What does Aela mean?
The origin of Ayla is uncertain: two independent sources (Turkish and Hebrew); the Turkish 'moon halo' gloss is a popular explanation that we could not confirm in a dictionary.
How popular is the name Aela?
Aela was the 2778th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 2694th with 64 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,368 places. More babies were named Aela in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Aela a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Aela in the US.
Where is Aela most popular?
In 2021–2025, Aela was most common in Arizona (0.04 per 1,000 girls), followed by Indiana and Pennsylvania.