Alaia

Meaning of Alaia

Alaia is a Basque name for girls meaning "joyful" or "happy," from the word alai. Basque is spoken in the Basque Country, which covers parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. In Spanish the name is pronounced ah-LIE-ah, and in American English it is usually said uh-LIE-uh; both put the stress on the second syllable.

In the United States, Alaia was rare as recently as 2014, when it ranked 2,648th. It rose sharply after that, with big jumps in 2015 and 2019, and reached 120th in 2020; it has stayed close to that level since. It peaked in 2024, ranking 112th with 2,429 babies, the most in any year, and placed 117th in 2025 with 2,318 babies.