Lylah
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Meaning
variant of Leila (Arabic 'night') or a feminine form of Lyle (Norman French 'island')
The story
Lylah is one spelling with two possible histories, and Behind the Name declines to choose: a variant of Leila, or a feminine form of Lyle. The first road leads to Arabic layla, night, the name at the heart of the old Layla and Majnun story, carried into English by Lord Byron's poems. The second leads to a Norman French surname, l'isle, island. Night or island, the record cannot say. What the record can say is that the spelling is older than it looks: 12 girls in the 1910s and 26 in the 1920s, generations early. The count then falls to a stray five or nothing for six straight decades before the modern wave arrives: 30 girls in the 1990s, then 964, then 4,428 in the 2010s, and 3,077 so far this decade. Behind the Name ranks it 468th in England and Wales and 584th in the United States for 2025. Two etymologies, one bedtime-soft sound, and a record that keeps growing either way.
How popular is Lylah around the world?
In the United States, 3,077 babies were named Lylah between 2020 and 2025. In Scotland, 13 girls named Lylah were registered in 2024, the 275th most common name among girls that year.
Lylah is on the official records of the United States, Scotland, South Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada and France.
United States
1 in 7,100
In the United States, 3,077 babies were named Lylah between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lylah peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Scotland
1 in 3,500
In Scotland, 13 girls named Lylah were registered in 2024, the 275th 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
South Australia
1 in 3,7002017
In South Australia, 5 girls were registered as Lylah 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
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 girls named Lylah 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 6,900
In England and Wales, 85 girls named Lylah were born in 2025, the 468th 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 7,700
In Ireland, 7 girls named Lylah were born in 2025, the 483rd most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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 14,000
In Canada, 26 girls named Lylah were born in 2024, ranked 1,023rd 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)
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Lylah were born in 2025, ranked 5,711th 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)
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Lylah
Most people given the name Lylah 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 Lylah deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lylah 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 Lylah fits with your family’s names and surname.
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