Ayla
Ayla was the 77th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,149 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 69th with 3,253 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 188 places. More babies were named Ayla in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Turkish, Hebrew
Say it AY-luh /ˈeɪlə/
- Rank in 2025
- #77 girls, up 54 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 3,149girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20243,253 babies
- Total since 1880
- 38,040babies recorded
What does the name Ayla mean?
Ayla has at least two separate sources. In Turkish it is a common girl's name usually explained as the halo of light around the moon, from ay, 'moon'; Wikipedia gives that meaning. In Hebrew, Ela or Ayla (אֵלָה) is the word for the terebinth, a tree of the pistachio family, and Wikipedia notes that the name is also linked with the oak. Wikipedia also mentions related Turkish names built on ay, such as Aylin.
ay (Turkish, “moon”)אֵלָה (Hebrew, “ela, terebinth tree”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Two independent sources (Turkish and Hebrew); the Turkish 'moon halo' gloss is a popular explanation that we could not confirm in a dictionary.
Related names: Aila, Aylah, Eila, Ela, Isla.
Sources for this meaning
- Wikipedia, 'Ayla (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'אלה', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Ayla popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #77 | 3,149 |
| 2020 | #131 | 2,025 |
| 2010 | #351 | 914 |
| 2000 | #874 | 252 |
| 1990 | #818 | 241 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Ayla, counting every spelling?
Ayla is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #70 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #77 for Ayla on its own. Together these spellings went to 4,015 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayla | 3,149 | #77 | 14,302 |
| Aila | 329 | #827 | 1,782 |
| Aylah | 170 | #1,310 | 925 |
| Eila | 113 | #1,783 | 623 |
| Aayla | 43 | #3,517 | 322 |
| Aella | 35 | #4,068 | 306 |
| Aela | 61 | #2,778 | 292 |
| Aylla | 48 | #3,259 | 176 |
| Ailah | 30 | #4,549 | 172 |
| Eilah | 18 | #6,384 | 107 |
| Aaila | 8 | #10,918 | 51 |
| Aaylah | 5 | #14,954 | 37 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Ayla?
3,149 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ayla (0.87 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Ayla born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ayla.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ayla?
About 37,700 people born in the US named Ayla are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 16. That makes Ayla a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ayla by state
How common Ayla was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (3.4×), Rhode Island (3.2×), Massachusetts (2.8×), District of Columbia (2.8×), Delaware (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Wyoming, Texas, Vermont.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ayla: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ayla, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ayla · Sibling names for Ayla
Questions about the name Ayla
What does Ayla mean?
The origin of Ayla is uncertain: two independent sources (Turkish and Hebrew); the Turkish 'moon halo' gloss is a popular explanation that we could not confirm in a dictionary.
How popular is the name Ayla?
Ayla was the 77th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 3,149 babies. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked 69th with 3,253 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 188 places. More babies were named Ayla in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ayla a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Ayla in the US.
Where is Ayla most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ayla was most common in Hawaii (5.93 per 1,000 girls), followed by Rhode Island and Massachusetts.