Nameling

Laila

Gender
Girl
Say it
LAY-la
Origin
Arabic
UK rank, 2025
#300 for girls
US rank, 2025
#413 for girls

Laila is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “night”. In 2025 it ranked 300th for girls in the UK (162 babies) and 413th for girls in the US (755 babies).

What does Laila mean?

Arabic: spelling of Layla

“night”

The tragic Arabic love story of Layla and Majnun made the name famous across the Muslim world.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Laila a girl's or a boy's name?

Laila is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 162 girls in the UK and 755 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Laila in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#300among girls
Babies in 2025
162about 1 in 1,700 girls
Five-year trend
Steadydown 24% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 162 girls in the UK were named Laila, making it the 300th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 272nd. Its busiest year was 2010, with 652 girls.

Half of all the girls named Laila in the UK since 1996 were born between 2008 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 1,460 girls in the UK were given Laila or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #32, up from #300 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 295th in England and Wales and 301st in Scotland.

1996Busiest: 652 in 20102025
Laila in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025162#300
2024137#354
2023147#330
2022158#311
2021171#312
2020188#272
2019189#281
2018210#262
2017237#237
2016271#215
2015329#188
2014423#148
2013392#150
2012547#116
2011524#122
2010652#101
2009495#121
2008369#166
2007350#175
2006337#181
2005348#173
2004195#254
2003156#291
2002101#377
200189#400
200081#430
199967#488
199848#604
199746#626
199635#719

How popular is Laila in the US?

Rank in 2025
#413among girls
Babies in 2025
755about 1 in 2,100 girls
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 41% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 755 girls in the US were named Laila, making it the 413th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 227th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 2,414 girls. It first appears in the records in 1884.

It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 9 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Laila than any year since 2001.

Half of all the girls named Laila in the US since 1880 were born between 2007 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 8,110 girls in the US were given Laila or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #15, up from #413 for this spelling alone.

1884Busiest: 2,414 in 20082025
Laila in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025755#413
2024844#371
2023989#312
20221,031#309
20211,253#243
20201,303#227
20191,461#210
20181,620#182
20171,751#173
20161,951#164
20151,889#170
20142,147#149
20132,143#144
20122,250#143
20112,198#141
20102,249#140
20092,379#135
20082,414#140
20072,365#148
20061,445#236
20051,453#234
20041,282#250
20031,306#249
2002801#369
2001612#453
2000389#643
1999168#1,157
1998131#1,339
1997116#1,432
1996111#1,476
1995110#1,453
199487#1,702
199396#1,588
1992100#1,545
1991101#1,531
199078#1,824
198979#1,713
198860#1,982
198759#1,917
198679#1,538
198570#1,665
198479#1,459
198376#1,496
198256#1,900
198172#1,615
198064#1,735
197958#1,832
197863#1,669
197749#1,976
197660#1,638
197562#1,586
197453#1,709
197347#1,805
197234#2,222
197124#2,874
197024#2,856
196923#2,768
196821#2,789
196717#3,084
196629#2,190
196520#2,743
196425#2,474
196325#2,423
196225#2,413
196117#3,059
196018#2,903
195917#2,868
195823#2,375
195717#2,822
195612#3,492
195515#2,970
195411#3,489
195320#2,362
195210#3,551
195111#3,283
19500–
19497#4,234
19489#3,591
19479#3,704
194610#3,216
194510#2,915
19446#4,052
194315#2,351
194210#2,984
19417#3,557
19406#3,861
19398#3,143
193811#2,578
193711#2,569
193611#2,520
19357#3,429
193412#2,423
193314#2,160
193210#2,829
193110#2,748
193013#2,424
192915#2,190
192811#2,766
192717#2,168
192614#2,473
192519#2,017
19248#3,663
192326#1,637
192211#2,956
192131#1,476
192025#1,666
191929#1,445
191817#2,101
191719#1,847
191625#1,485
191523#1,523
191422#1,344
191312#1,766
191212#1,620
19119#1,656
19107#1,935
19095#2,208
19086#1,862
19070–
19060–
19050–
19040–
19036#1,592
19020–
19010–
19000–
18995#1,595
18980–
18970–
18960–
18950–
18940–
18935#1,437
18920–
18910–
18900–
18890–
18880–
18870–
18860–
18850–
18847#851

Names like Laila

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Lyla Zara Lyra Fatima Myla Ava Mila Lily Luna Isla Bella Mia

Other spellings of Laila

Layla Leila Leyla Laylah Lailah Lejla Leighla

Names related to Laila

Lilah Lila Lilia Lilya Lilla Laela

More Arabic names

Muhammad Mohammed Mohammad Aaliyah Amir Amira Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza Kairo Safa Liyana

Every Arabic name

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, “Laila: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/laila, updated 20 October 2026.