Leyla
Leyla was the 611th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 478 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 586th; the most babies were born in 2022 (504). Over the last ten years it has moved up 172 places. More babies were named Leyla in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning night (Arabic Layla) · Arabic, Turkish
Say it LAY-luh /ˈleɪlə/
- Rank in 2025
- #611 girls, down 25 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 478girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022504 babies
- Total since 1880
- 10,564babies recorded
What does the name Leyla mean?
Leyla is the Turkish and Azerbaijani spelling of Arabic Laylā. Wiktionary derives Laylā from the Semitic word for night, the same root as Arabic layl and layla, night. Wiktionary notes that Layla is the type of the beloved woman in a classic Arabic love story, comparable to Juliet. The same name appears in English as Leila, Layla and Laila, and Wiktionary lists Leyla in English as a variant of Leila. US records show Leyla from the 1950s.
لَيْلَى (Arabic, “Layla”)*laylay- (Proto-Semitic, “night”)
How sure is this? Probable. Wiktionary only. The 'night' derivation is standard but not checked against an edited Arabic dictionary here.
Related names: Layla, Leila, Laila, Lela.
See also: Arabic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leyla' (Turkish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'ليلى' (Arabic section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leyla' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Leyla popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #611 | 478 |
| 2020 | #586 | 496 |
| 2010 | #750 | 370 |
| 2000 | #1,684 | 105 |
| 1990 | #3,767 | 28 |
| 1980 | #3,785 | 21 |
| 1970 | #5,629 | 9 |
| 1960 | #6,898 | 5 |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Leyla, counting every spelling?
Leyla is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #573 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #611 for Leyla on its own. Together these spellings went to 526 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leyla | 478 | #611 | 2,419 |
| Leylah | 48 | #3,277 | 269 |
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 Leyla?
478 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Leyla (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Leyla 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 18 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Leyla.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Leyla?
About 10,400 people born in the US named Leyla are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 6 and 19. That makes Leyla 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.
Leyla by state
How common Leyla was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Connecticut (2.1×), New Jersey (2.0×), Florida (1.9×), New York (1.8×), California (1.6×). In 19 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Leyla: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Leyla, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Leyla · Sibling names for Leyla
Questions about the name Leyla
What does Leyla mean?
Leyla means “night (Arabic Layla)” (Arabic, Turkish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Leyla?
Leyla was the 611th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 478 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 586th; the most babies were born in 2022 (504). Over the last ten years it has moved up 172 places. More babies were named Leyla in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Leyla a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Leyla in the US.
Where is Leyla most popular?
In 2021–2025, Leyla was most common in Connecticut (0.62 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Jersey and Florida.