Girl · #8,608 in 2026

Yalda

Yaldā Night or Chelle Night is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice of the Northern Hemisphere.

Current Rank
#8,608
Peak Rank
#8,027 (2022)
Total Babies
140
5-Yr Trend
Stable
1982
First Year
2026
Last Year
2022
Peak Year
#8027
Peak Rank
140
Total Count
18
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Yalda

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Yaldā Night or Chelle Night is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice of the Northern Hemisphere.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Origin & history
Yalda Night was one of the holy nights in ancient Iran and included in the official calendar of the Iranian Achaemenid Empire from at least 502 BCE under Darius I . Many of its modern festivities and customs remain unchanged from this period. Ancient peoples such as the Aryans and Indo-Europeans were well attuned to natural phenomena such as the changing of seasons , as their daily activities were dictated by the availability of sunlight, while their crops were impacted by climate and weather. They found that the shortest days are the last days of autumn and the first night of winter, and that

The Story of Yalda

Yalda first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1982, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2022, when 13 Yaldas were born — ranking #8,027 that year. As of 2026, Yalda ranks #8,608 for baby girls with 11 births, with steady use. In total, more than 140 Yaldas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1980s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

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No data

Names that sound like Yalda

Phonetically similar names — useful when Yalda is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Yalda

What does the name Yalda mean?
Yaldā Night or Chelle Night is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice of the Northern Hemisphere.
How popular is Yalda in 2026?
In 2026, Yalda ranks #8,608 among girls' names in the U.S., with 11 babies given the name that year.
When was Yalda most popular?
Yalda reached its peak popularity in 2022, ranking #8,027 that year with 13 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Yalda most popular?
Yalda has historically been most popular in California, Texas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Yalda.
Is Yalda a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Yalda is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Yalda?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Yalda include Hellena, Rua, Elias. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

Similar Names

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Hellena
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Elias
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Aseneth
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Adan
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Naara
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About the name Yalda

Yalda is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1982 and has accumulated 140 births in the dataset. Yalda's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #8,027. Use the chart and map above to compare Yalda's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.