Lila
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Meaning
"night"
The story
Lila is the night in Arabic, worn smooth, and it beat its own sister home. A true vintage, it counted more than 10,000 girls in the 1920s, faded to about 1,200 in the 1970s, and then returned in force: about 9,000 in the 2000s, 16,600 in the 2010s, and 8,500 so far this decade, every one of them a girl. Its h-sister Lilah, one letter longer, made the same journey a step behind and entered our records' worklist one batch earlier; the two chart separately, alongside Layla, Leila and Delilah, and the soft double-l sound they share is one of the era's largest families. In our records Lila counts about 75,800 girls against 57 boys ever. The name rested a generation and more, which is exactly what the revival rule requires, and the night, as ever, needs no explanation.
Lila across languages
One shared root links 7 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Arabic layl "night", spread by the seventh-century romance of Layla and Majnun
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Lila around the world?
In the United States, 8,546 babies were named Lila between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 560 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 90th most common name among girls that year.
Lila is on the official records of the United States, France, South Australia, Poland, New Zealand, England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, Montevideo, Mexico City, Austria, Chile, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 2,500
In the United States, 8,546 babies were named Lila between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lila peaked in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 1,100
In France, about 560 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 90th most common name 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. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
South Australia
1 in 1,3002017
In South Australia, 14 girls were registered as Lila 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
Poland
1 in 1,500
In Poland, 163 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 102nd 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)
New Zealand
1 in 2,100
In New Zealand, 28 girls named Lila were registered in 2025.
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
England and Wales
1 in 2,100
In England and Wales, 277 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 179th 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
Scotland
1 in 3,100
In Scotland, 15 girls named Lila were registered in 2024, the 244th 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
Ireland
1 in 3,600
In Ireland, 15 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 273rd 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
Canada
1 in 3,800
In Canada, 96 girls named Lila were born in 2024, the 317th 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)
Argentina
1 in 8,200
In Argentina, 81 newborns were given the name Lila 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
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 girls named Lila were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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
Mexico City City
1 in 17,000
In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Lila 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 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 girls named Lila were born in 2025, the 858th 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)
Chile
1 in 36,000
In Chile, 5 girls were registered as Lila in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 52,000
In Spain, 855 residents are named Lila, ranked 1,641st among women, with a mean age of 19.8 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
Brazil
1 in 91,000
At the 2022 census, 2,175 people in Brazil were named Lila, ranked 4,830th, with a median age of 49.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 111 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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
Names like Lila · Names that go with Lila · Short names · Nickname-proof names
The Lila deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lila 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 Lila fits with your family’s names and surname.
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