Laila
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Laila peaked in the 2010s.
Popularity in Brazil
38,099 people · the #694 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 5,319 · median age 16
Among people named Laila living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 5,566 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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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