Laila
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Meaning
"night"
The story
Laila is the Arabic word for night, a name of dark-haired, moonlit poetry, and the old Arabic and Persian romance of Layla and Majnun made it one of the great love-story names of the East. In America it kept a low profile for generations, then began a steady climb in the 1990s that has carried it to its strongest levels in recent decades. That climb started just as Laila Ali stepped into the boxing ring: Muhammad Ali's daughter turned professional in 1999 and retired undefeated at twenty-four wins and no losses, collecting world titles and proving the family gifts had passed down the line. We cannot prove she powered the trend, and sister spellings like Layla and Leila rose alongside it, but the timing is easy to notice. Laila today is a quiet success story: poetic, international, and comfortably established without being everywhere.
How popular is Laila around the world?
In the United States, 6,175 babies were named Laila between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 9 girls were registered as Laila in 2017.
Laila is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Norway, England and Wales, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico City, Scotland, Canada, Spain, Austria, Poland, Argentina and France.
United States
1 in 3,500
In the United States, 6,175 babies were named Laila between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Laila peaked in the 2010s. Laila went to 1,889 US babies in 2015 and 755 in 2025, 40% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,0002017
In South Australia, 9 girls were registered as Laila in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Norway
1 in 3,800register 2026
In Norway, 7 girls were given the name Laila in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
England and Wales
1 in 3,900
In England and Wales, 151 girls named Laila were born in 2025, the 295th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 4,900
In Ireland, 11 girls named Laila were born in 2025, the 352nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Brazil
1 in 5,300
At the 2022 census, 38,099 people in Brazil were named Laila, the 694th most common name, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Laila living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 5,566 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Mexico City City
1 in 5,300
In Mexico City, there were 22 registrations of Laila in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Scotland
1 in 5,700
In Scotland, 8 girls named Laila were registered in 2024, the 384th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 6,100
In Canada, 60 girls named Laila were born in 2024, the 488th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 7,000
In Spain, 6,378 residents are named Laila, the 394th most common name among women, with a mean age of 30.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
1 in 7,600
In Austria, 10 girls named Laila were born in 2025, the 474th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 8,200
In Poland, 30 girls named Laila were born in 2025, the 223rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 8,700
In Argentina, 76 newborns were given the name Laila in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 girls named Laila were born in 2025, ranked 1,428th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Laila, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Laila is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2024
Laila is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2024
Laila is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 129 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
When you meet Laila
Most people given the name Laila in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
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The Laila deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Laila truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Laila fits with your family’s names and surname.
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