Alaina
Alaina was the 224th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,366 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 156th with 1,999 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 48 places. More babies were named Alaina in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Breton, French
Say it uh-LAY-nuh /əˈleɪnə/
- Rank in 2025
- #224 girls, down 27 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,366girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20111,999 babies
- Total since 1880
- 50,584babies recorded
What does the name Alaina mean?
Alaina is a 20th-century feminine form of Alan. Wiktionary describes it as a variant of Alana made from Alain, the French form of Alan, and Wikipedia calls it the feminine of Alain or a version of Alanna. Alan is a Breton name of uncertain origin; DMNES thinks the most likely source is a word meaning 'deer'. Alayna and Alena are other spellings.
Alain (French, “Alan”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. A feminine of Alan, whose origin is uncertain.
Related names: Alana, Alayna, Alena, Alanna, Alan.
See also: Celtic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Alaina', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Alaina', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Alan', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Alaina
The usual nicknames for Alaina are Lainey. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Alaina in the last five years, 250 were named Lainey, against 24 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lainey · also for Elaina, Elaine | Modern | #30 | 17,762 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Alainas go by each one.
Alaina popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 6 since 1989.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #224 | 1,366 |
| 2020 | #197 | 1,488 |
| 2010 | #206 | 1,500 |
| 2000 | #316 | 1,004 |
| 1990 | #441 | 567 |
| 1980 | #501 | 407 |
| 1970 | #1,407 | 74 |
| 1960 | #3,513 | 13 |
| 1950 | #5,304 | 5 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Alaina, counting every spelling?
Alaina is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #136 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #224 for Alaina on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,414 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaina | 1,366 | #224 | 7,110 |
| Alayna | 927 | #332 | 5,243 |
| Aleina | 45 | #3,395 | 238 |
| Alaynah | 21 | #5,733 | 143 |
| Alaynna | 22 | #5,563 | 108 |
| Alainna | 14 | #7,497 | 68 |
| Alainah | 8 | #10,963 | 60 |
| Allayna | — | — | 32 |
| Alaena | 6 | #13,275 | 30 |
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 Alaina?
1,366 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Alaina (0.38 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Alaina 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 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Alaina.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Alaina?
About 49,900 people born in the US named Alaina are alive today, with a median age of 16; half are between 9 and 26. That makes Alaina mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Alaina by state
How common Alaina was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (2.8×), Maine (2.0×), Kentucky (2.0×), Iowa (1.9×), Rhode Island (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Nevada, Hawaii.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Alaina: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Alaina, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Alaina · Sibling names for Alaina
Questions about the name Alaina
What does Alaina mean?
The origin of Alaina is uncertain: a feminine of Alan, whose origin is uncertain.
How popular is the name Alaina?
Alaina was the 224th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,366 babies. Its best year was 2011, when it ranked 156th with 1,999 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 48 places. More babies were named Alaina in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Alaina a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Alaina in the US.
Where is Alaina most popular?
In 2021–2025, Alaina was most common in West Virginia (2.48 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maine and Kentucky.