Ayala is a Hebrew name that means "doe" or "gazelle", from ayalah, and is a popular girls' name in Israel. It is also a Spanish and Basque surname taken from a town in the province of Alava, which gives it a second life in Hispanic families. In the United States Ayala has risen from number 3854 in 2015 to number 2359 in 2025, its best rank so far.