What names mean night?
Layla and Nisha are names that mean "night". Layla comes from Arabic, while Nisha comes from Sanskrit.
Explore the names below and follow any name to its full history.
Lila Arabic · "night"
Laila Arabic · "night"
Sayandeep Bengali · lamp of dusk, an evening light (sayan, evening + deep, lamp)
Orpheus Greek · the darkness of night; legendary musician
Nisha Sanskrit · night
Sharbari Bengali · night
Lailah Hebrew · traditionally 'night'
Layla Arabic · "night" in Arabic; the name of Qays’s beloved in the Layla and Majnun romance
Amaya Basque · variant of Amaia, from Basque amaia, the end
Samar Arabic · evening conversation
Lela Arabic · variant of Leila, night
Lyla Arabic · a form of Leila, from the Arabic name Layla, "night"; also used as a feminine form of Lyle, from a surname meaning "island"
Lilah Arabic · variant of Leila, "night"
Leilah Arabic · variant of Leila, 'night'
Saya Japanese · sand, fine silk, or little night, depending on the kanji
Tarek Arabic · one who knocks at night; morning star
Twila English · modern coinage, likely evoking 'twilight'
Samir Arabic · companion in evening talk (Arabic root samara, "to talk in the evening")
Ruoxi Chinese · often 若曦, 'like dawn light', or 若汐, 'like the evening tide'; a favorite for US-born daughters of Chinese immigrants
Yalda Persian · the winter solstice festival night (from Syriac, 'birth')
Samira Arabic · companion in evening talk
Lylah Arabic · variant of Leila (Arabic 'night') or a feminine form of Lyle (Norman French 'island')
Laylah Arabic · variant spelling of Layla, Arabic for 'night'
Ashwin Sanskrit · horse lord (the Ashvins are the twin gods of dawn and dusk)
Lilith Hebrew · figure from Jewish folklore, traditionally "of the night"
Twyla English · modern coinage, possibly derived from 'twilight' or 'twin'
Yeranuhi Armenian · traditionally an Armenian name meaning evening
Leyla Turkish · night (Turkish spelling of Layla, the classic Layla and Majnun romance)
Luna Latin · Latin for moon; also the Roman moon goddess; the same word means moon in Spanish and Italian
Laylani Arabic · modern blend of Layla ('night') and the Hawaiian suffix '-lani' ('heaven')
Quynh Vietnamese · the night-blooming quỳnh flower, which opens for a single night; originally a word for fine red jade. Written Quỳnh; a poetic favorite of parents in 1980s and 90s Vietnam, so in the US it clusters in the younger immigrant generation, and bearers often accept the American reading Quinn
Leila Arabic · night; an alternate spelling of Layla
Sameer Arabic · companion in evening conversation
Delila Hebrew · variant spelling of Delilah, traditionally 'delicate' or 'of the night', the biblical figure who betrayed Samson
Laxmi Sanskrit · the goddess of fortune honored on Laxmi Puja, the third night of Nepal's Tihar festival; the x spelling, standard in Nepal, marks the name as Nepali against Indian Lakshmi
Penelope Greek · traditionally "weaver," after the wife in the Odyssey who unwove her loom each night to hold off suitors, though the root may be an old word for a duck; four syllables of loyal, literary charm that clip to Penny and Poppy
Andrzej Polish · manly, brave (Polish form of Andrew). Its name day eve, Andrzejki on November 29, is Poland's night of wax-pouring fortune games, the clearest surviving case of the name-day calendar outranking the birthday; in the US he is usually Andrew on paper and Andrzej at the family table.
Romduol Khmer · the rumduol, a small cream-colored blossom with a strong evening fragrance, declared Cambodia's national flower by royal decree in 2005; as a given name it is an unmistakable heritage statement, chosen when parents want the Khmer to be visible
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