# Lila (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lila/  
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 | “lilac” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Leela |
| US babies named this | 76,550 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 57 / 76,493 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,908, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Variant of Leila or Lilah, depending on pronunciation; also associated with Spanish lila (“lilac”).

## 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 | 1,921 | 163 |
| 2012 | 1,728 | 182 |
| 2013 | 1,703 | 190 |
| 2014 | 1,776 | 184 |
| 2015 | 1,658 | 199 |
| 2016 | 1,561 | 210 |
| 2017 | 1,474 | 210 |
| 2018 | 1,405 | 225 |
| 2019 | 1,373 | 228 |
| 2020 | 1,298 | 228 |
| 2021 | 1,341 | 223 |
| 2022 | 1,354 | 221 |
| 2023 | 1,401 | 213 |
| 2024 | 1,482 | 207 |
| 2025 | 1,670 | 187 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 6 | 4,084 |
| 1922 | 5 | 4,688 |
| 1924 | 5 | 4,709 |
| 1928 | 5 | 4,482 |
| 1930 | 5 | 4,320 |
| 1931 | 5 | 4,098 |
| 1932 | 5 | 4,075 |
| 1934 | 8 | 2,858 |
| 1935 | 7 | 3,135 |
| 1939 | 6 | 3,323 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 157 | 312 |
| 2012 | 188 | 265 |
| 2013 | 161 | 290 |
| 2014 | 194 | 252 |
| 2015 | 214 | 234 |
| 2016 | 175 | 287 |
| 2017 | 150 | 320 |
| 2018 | 162 | 292 |
| 2019 | 144 | 325 |
| 2020 | 184 | 256 |
| 2021 | 211 | 237 |
| 2022 | 196 | 242 |
| 2023 | 178 | 257 |
| 2024 | 204 | 237 |
| 2025 | 277 | 179 |

## People named Lila

- Lila Kedrova, actress (1909–2000)
- Lila Leeds, American actress (1928-1999)
- Lila Azam Zanganeh, French writer
- Lila Rose, American pro-life activist
- Lila Leslie, British-born American actress (1890-1940)
- Lila Moss, British model, daughter of Kate Moss and Jefferson Hack
- Lila De Nobili, fashion illustrator, stage designer, and costume designer

## 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.