Girl nameCurrently #37 in the USSteady
Layla
LAY-luh//ˈleɪlə//
2 syllablesPeak year: 20195 lettersStarts with L
Meaning & origin
Night
Layla comes from the Arabic word for 'night', and is the heroine of the classic Middle Eastern love story 'Layla and Majnun', a tale of devoted, tragic love told across centuries of Arabic and Persian poetry. It gained wider Western recognition partly through Eric Clapton's song 'Layla' and has grown steadily popular in English-speaking countries since the 2000s.
Layla's popularity over time
| Year | Births named Layla |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 7 |
| 1955 | 7 |
| 1957 | 5 |
| 1964 | 7 |
| 1967 | 10 |
| 1969 | 7 |
| 1970 | 7 |
| 1971 | 42 |
| 1972 | 124 |
| 1973 | 151 |
| 1974 | 185 |
| 1975 | 194 |
| 1976 | 174 |
| 1977 | 206 |
| 1978 | 142 |
| 1979 | 130 |
| 1980 | 130 |
| 1981 | 106 |
| 1982 | 116 |
| 1983 | 87 |
| 1984 | 111 |
| 1985 | 81 |
| 1986 | 127 |
| 1987 | 90 |
| 1988 | 109 |
| 1989 | 95 |
| 1990 | 132 |
| 1991 | 109 |
| 1992 | 166 |
| 1993 | 320 |
| 1994 | 224 |
| 1995 | 235 |
| 1996 | 215 |
| 1997 | 189 |
| 1998 | 247 |
| 1999 | 351 |
| 2000 | 698 |
| 2001 | 947 |
| 2002 | 1,073 |
| 2003 | 1,687 |
| 2004 | 2,021 |
| 2005 | 2,384 |
| 2006 | 3,369 |
| 2007 | 3,910 |
| 2008 | 4,939 |
| 2009 | 5,217 |
| 2010 | 5,906 |
| 2011 | 6,097 |
| 2012 | 6,286 |
| 2013 | 6,494 |
| 2014 | 6,470 |
| 2015 | 6,353 |
| 2016 | 6,298 |
| 2017 | 6,343 |
| 2018 | 6,509 |
| 2019 | 6,523 |
| 2020 | 6,221 |
| 2021 | 6,354 |
| 2022 | 6,091 |
| 2023 | 5,698 |
| 2024 | 5,312 |
Layla through the decades
- Layla peaked in 2019, when 6,523 babies were named Layla in the US.
- Over the last 10 years of data (2015–2024), use of Layla has risen 21% compared to the 10 years before that.
- Layla currently ranks #37 in the US and is holding steady.
Nicknames
Lay
Variants & spellings
LeilaLailaLeyla
Famous people named Layla
- Layla El — wrestler