Fun Facts About the Name Aryeh
- More than 3 thousand babies named Aryeh: U.S. records list 3,497 babies given the name Aryeh from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Aryeh - about 1 girl for every 698 boys.
What Does the Name Aryeh Mean?
Aryeh is a Hebrew name meaning "lion." It comes directly from the Hebrew noun aryeh (אַרְיֵה), the ordinary biblical word for a lion, which appears throughout the Hebrew Bible as a common noun - for instance in Amos 3:8, where the lion roars. A shorter form of the same word, ari (אֲרִי), is also used in the Bible. The name is not a symbolic overlay on some unrelated root; "lion" is its plain, literal sense.
Because the meaning is a single word, Aryeh is often combined with another name rather than expanded: in the compound Aryeh Leib the Hebrew element and the Yiddish element Leib both mean "lion," so the pair repeats the same idea in two languages.
Aryeh Name History & Origins
The lion is bound to the tribe of Judah through Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49:9, where Judah is called a gur aryeh, a "young lion." As the lion became Judah's emblem, the Hebrew name Aryeh was frequently given together with Judah, producing names such as Yehudah Aryeh. Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague, is remembered under the Hebrew name Yehudah Aryeh, with Aryeh matching the lion meaning of his German-family form Loew.
In Ashkenazi practice the Hebrew Aryeh was commonly paired with the Yiddish name Leib, which also means "lion," giving the familiar double name Aryeh Leib. Rabbi Aryeh Leib Ginzburg titled his best-known work Sha'agat Aryeh, "The Roar of the Lion," a phrase that plays on his own name and echoes the lion language of Amos.
A form of the word appears in 2 Kings 15:25, in the phrase "Argob and Arieh." It is disputed whether "Arieh" there is a personal name or simply the noun "the lion," so the verse is not a secure early example of Aryeh as a person's name.
In modern usage Aryeh is a standard Hebrew given name in Israel, where the shortened form Ari is also common as a name in its own right. The name is used by Jewish communities of Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi background.
How Popular is the Name Aryeh?
Aryeh has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,281 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | #16,734 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,281 | 153 | 0.0090% |
| 2024 | #1,317 | 147 | 0.0086% |
| 2023 | #1,703 | 99 | 0.0058% |
| 2022 | #1,373 | 136 | 0.0078% |
| 2021 | #1,338 | 138 | 0.0079% |
| 2020 | #1,449 | 119 | 0.0069% |
| 2019 | #1,337 | 135 | 0.0075% |
| 2018 | #1,466 | 118 | 0.0065% |
| 2017 | #1,439 | 119 | 0.0064% |
| 2016 | #1,618 | 99 | 0.0052% |
| 2015 | #1,502 | 110 | 0.0057% |
| 2014 | #1,680 | 91 | 0.0047% |
| 2013 | #1,375 | 122 | 0.0065% |
| 2012 | #1,639 | 94 | 0.0050% |
| 2011 | #1,780 | 81 | 0.0043% |
| 2010 | #1,754 | 86 | 0.0045% |
| 2009 | #1,618 | 98 | 0.0049% |
| 2008 | #2,003 | 70 | 0.0034% |
| 2007 | #1,913 | 74 | 0.0036% |
| 2006 | #1,892 | 71 | 0.0035% |
| 2005 | #2,085 | 59 | 0.0030% |
| 2004 | #1,733 | 73 | 0.0037% |
| 2003 | #1,783 | 67 | 0.0034% |
| 2002 | #1,918 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 2001 | #2,350 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2000 | #2,018 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 1999 | #2,612 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1998 | #2,160 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 1997 | #2,131 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 1996 | #1,743 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1995 | #1,758 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 1994 | #2,224 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1993 | #1,940 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 1992 | #2,004 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 1991 | #2,233 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1990 | #1,756 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 1989 | #1,955 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 1988 | #1,502 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 1987 | #1,898 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1986 | #1,923 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 1985 | #1,796 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1984 | #1,888 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1983 | #1,748 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1982 | #2,115 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1981 | #2,500 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1980 | #1,811 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 1979 | #2,581 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1978 | #1,723 | 31 | 0.0019% |
| 1977 | #2,464 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1976 | #2,183 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1975 | #2,646 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1974 | #1,755 | 27 | 0.0017% |
| 1973 | #2,225 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1972 | #2,328 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1971 | #2,826 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1970 | #4,261 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #2,423 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #3,389 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #4,002 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #3,260 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1965 | #2,793 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #2,674 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1963 | #3,670 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #3,662 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #3,859 | 5 | 0.0002% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Aryeh Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Aryeh's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Aryeh's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.