# Laila (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/laila/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Arabic |
| Meaning | “night” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈleɪlə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 43,507 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 23 / 43,484 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6,975, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Variant of Leila and Layla, from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā), related to لَيْلَة (layla, “night”).

## What it means

Laila is grouped under night.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,198 | 141 |
| 2012 | 2,250 | 143 |
| 2013 | 2,143 | 144 |
| 2014 | 2,147 | 149 |
| 2015 | 1,889 | 170 |
| 2016 | 1,951 | 164 |
| 2017 | 1,751 | 173 |
| 2018 | 1,620 | 182 |
| 2019 | 1,461 | 210 |
| 2020 | 1,303 | 227 |
| 2021 | 1,253 | 243 |
| 2022 | 1,031 | 309 |
| 2023 | 989 | 313 |
| 2024 | 844 | 371 |
| 2025 | 755 | 413 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 6 | 10,785 |
| 2009 | 5 | 13,633 |
| 2012 | 7 | 10,341 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,248 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 474 | 124 |
| 2012 | 495 | 118 |
| 2013 | 360 | 145 |
| 2014 | 383 | 143 |
| 2015 | 307 | 178 |
| 2016 | 254 | 209 |
| 2017 | 218 | 230 |
| 2018 | 190 | 256 |
| 2019 | 167 | 292 |
| 2020 | 170 | 277 |
| 2021 | 155 | 303 |
| 2022 | 148 | 302 |
| 2023 | 140 | 311 |
| 2024 | 129 | 333 |
| 2025 | 151 | 295 |

## People named Laila

- Laila Ali, American television personality and retired professional boxer
- Laila Lalami, American writer
- Laila Robins, American actress
- Laila Halme, Finnish singer (1934–2021)
- Laila Haidari, Afghan human rights activist
- Laila Soueif, Egyptian activist, mathematician, professor
- Laila Rouass, British actress
- Laila Youssifou, Dutch rower
- Laila Elouy, Egyptian actress
- Laila Iskander, Egyptian social entrepreneur and politician
- Laila Hirvisaari, Finnish writer
- Laila Edwards, American ice hockey player (born 2004)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.