What does the name Aaliyah mean in English?

Answer 1

"Aaliyah" is an English transliteration of the Hebrew word עליה, which literally means "acending" or "going up." It has several metaphorical meanings in Hebrew, however. One of these is to immigrate to Israel ("make Aliyah",) the idea being that one is going up in a spiritual sense. Similarly, one can "have an Aliyah" during a Jewish Torah service, and say a particular blessing before the Torah is read. This is considered an honor, and in this case Aliyah has both a spiritual and literal meaning since the Torah is traditionally read on the Bimah, an elivated platform.