Ayla
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AY-la
- Origin
- Turkish
- UK rank, 2025
- #45 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #77 for girls
Ayla is a girls' name of Turkish origin, meaning “halo of moonlight”. In 2025 it ranked 45th for girls in the UK (1,099 babies) and 77th for girls in the US (3,149 babies).
What does Ayla mean?
Turkish
“halo of moonlight”
Also a Hebrew name linked to the oak tree, and the heroine of Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear.
Is Ayla a girl's or a boy's name?
Ayla is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 1,099 girls in the UK and 3,149 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ayla in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #45among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 1,099about 1 in 250 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 36% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 5.4%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 1,099 girls in the UK were named Ayla, making it the 45th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 67th.
2025 had the most girls named Ayla of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the girls named Ayla in the UK since 1996 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,360 girls in the UK were given Ayla or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #37, up from #45 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 42nd in England and Wales, 41st in Scotland and 82nd in Northern Ireland.
In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2024 (#47).
Ayla in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,099 | #45 |
| 2024 | 1,039 | #48 |
| 2023 | 910 | #55 |
| 2022 | 1,038 | #50 |
| 2021 | 924 | #62 |
| 2020 | 860 | #67 |
| 2019 | 744 | #80 |
| 2018 | 638 | #91 |
| 2017 | 596 | #105 |
| 2016 | 530 | #122 |
| 2015 | 472 | #131 |
| 2014 | 416 | #152 |
| 2013 | 369 | #160 |
| 2012 | 315 | #183 |
| 2011 | 230 | #247 |
| 2010 | 190 | #283 |
| 2009 | 130 | #375 |
| 2008 | 150 | #336 |
| 2007 | 114 | #400 |
| 2006 | 96 | #458 |
| 2005 | 57 | #624 |
| 2004 | 59 | #580 |
| 2003 | 45 | #687 |
| 2002 | 47 | #642 |
| 2001 | 34 | #783 |
| 2000 | 32 | #792 |
| 1999 | 29 | #837 |
| 1998 | 29 | #854 |
| 1997 | 35 | #758 |
| 1996 | 33 | #755 |
How popular is Ayla in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #77among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 3,149about 1 in 510 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 67% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 2.7%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 3,149 girls in the US were named Ayla, making it the 77th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 131st. Its busiest year was 2024, with 3,253 girls. It first appears in the records in 1963.
Half of all the girls named Ayla in the US since 1880 were born between 2010 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 4,089 girls in the US were given Ayla or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #70, up from #77 for this spelling alone.
Ayla in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,149 | #77 |
| 2024 | 3,253 | #69 |
| 2023 | 2,561 | #106 |
| 2022 | 2,758 | #98 |
| 2021 | 2,581 | #108 |
| 2020 | 2,025 | #131 |
| 2019 | 1,747 | #162 |
| 2018 | 1,587 | #190 |
| 2017 | 1,358 | #233 |
| 2016 | 1,237 | #258 |
| 2015 | 1,205 | #265 |
| 2014 | 1,188 | #277 |
| 2013 | 1,110 | #289 |
| 2012 | 1,295 | #250 |
| 2011 | 925 | #347 |
| 2010 | 914 | #351 |
| 2009 | 793 | #396 |
| 2008 | 796 | #406 |
| 2007 | 864 | #381 |
| 2006 | 1,233 | #265 |
| 2005 | 417 | #664 |
| 2004 | 372 | #714 |
| 2003 | 312 | #794 |
| 2002 | 297 | #790 |
| 2001 | 301 | #785 |
| 2000 | 252 | #873 |
| 1999 | 247 | #870 |
| 1998 | 231 | #910 |
| 1997 | 199 | #981 |
| 1996 | 235 | #847 |
| 1995 | 241 | #815 |
| 1994 | 246 | #818 |
| 1993 | 248 | #807 |
| 1992 | 261 | #780 |
| 1991 | 282 | #736 |
| 1990 | 241 | #816 |
| 1989 | 225 | #835 |
| 1988 | 267 | #709 |
| 1987 | 329 | #594 |
| 1986 | 93 | #1,380 |
| 1985 | 46 | #2,221 |
| 1984 | 41 | #2,339 |
| 1983 | 38 | #2,432 |
| 1982 | 13 | #5,207 |
| 1981 | 6 | #9,108 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 5 | #10,208 |
| 1978 | 5 | #9,748 |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 6 | #5,890 |
Names like Ayla
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Raya Maya Amira Layla Zainab Ayah Ayra Hafsa Aaliyah Khadija Hiba
Other spellings of Ayla
Aila Aylah Aiyla Ajla Eila Aaila Aela Ailah Aayla Aylla Aiylah Eilah
Names related to Ayla
More Turkish names
Aylin Alara Ayda Orhan Ayzel Kaya Aydin Aslan Eren Evren Ayaz Ela Aleyna Deniz Demir Selin
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ayla: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ayla, updated 20 October 2026.