Girls' name · since 1881
Lelah
2,187 babies named Lelah in U.S. Social Security records since 1881, with the highest year being 1915. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #4,437 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,466 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,187
- born since 1881
- 1910s
- peak decade
2,187 babies have been named Lelah since 1881, making it today's #9466 girls' name.
Lelah has 2,187 recorded births among girls since 1881, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #9466 as of the latest data, more common than 45% of girls, busiest in the 1910s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1881 to 2025.
- #4,437 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #9,466 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 2,187 born since 1881
- 1910s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lelah ranks #4,437 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,466 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,187 born since 1881, peaking in the 1910s.
- #4,437 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,466 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,187
- born since 1881
- 1910s
- peak decade
Lelah's 2,187 recorded births place it above 93.86% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
8 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Indiana.
How Lelah compares
2,187 Top 21% higher than 79% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Lelah's all-time total is 6x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Lelah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,187 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 43 | 21 | 19,840 |
Lelah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Lelah's full recorded timeline at 1946, 32% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 68% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1952, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1915 peak of 43 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Lelah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1881–2025
- Peak year (1915)
- 43
- Annual births at peak, across 145 years of records
Lelah by decade
1910s is the heaviest window (309 births, 14% of the file).
1910s was Lelah's strongest decade.
309 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Lelah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s
1880s
139 births
- 1890s
1890s
294 births
- 1900s
1900s
211 births
- 1910s
1910s
309 births
- 1920s
1920s
306 births
- 1930s
1930s
173 births
- 1940s 82
1940s
82 births
- 1950s 50
1950s
50 births
- 1960s 42
1960s
42 births
- 1970s 64
1970s
64 births
- 1980s 59
1980s
59 births
- 1990s 30
1990s
30 births
- 2000s
2000s
174 births
- 2010s
2010s
179 births
- 2020s 75
2020s
75 births
What this shows Peak: 1910s at 309 births (14% of all-time use).
How Lelah compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Lelah's total volume
Lelah by state
Where Lelah concentrates geographically, total births since 1881
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Indiana | | 21 | 1.0% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 19 | 0.9% |
| #3 | West Virginia | | 15 | 0.7% |
| #4 | Michigan | | 14 | 0.6% |
| #5 | Missouri | | 12 | 0.5% |
| #6 | Illinois | | 10 | 0.5% |
| #7 | California | | 6 | 0.3% |
| #8 | Iowa | | 5 | 0.2% |
21 of 2,187 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 8 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Lelah? ▼
Where does Lelah sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Lelah most popular? ▼
Where is Lelah most popular? ▼
How long has the name Lelah been used? ▼
What names are similar to Lelah? ▼
What to do with Lelah's data
- Lelah's decade-level peak was the 1910s (309 total births); usage has since declined to 75 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Indiana records the most Lelahs (21 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Indiana names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Lelah
Nearby Names Like Lelah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lelah
Compare Lelah side by side: Lelah vs Lela Lelah vs Lelia Lelah vs Lelani
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Lelah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Lelah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1915)
Similar record span (~144 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1881–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Lelah draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.