Leila
Meaning of Leila
Leila, pronounced LAY-luh, derives from the classical Arabic noun laylah “night,” a lexeme whose semantic field in medieval Arabic and Persian literature expanded to encompass nocturnal beauty, ecstatic love, and the moonlit settings of the famed Layla-and-Majnun romance that reached English readers through Orientalist translations in the nineteenth century. This literary conduit, coupled with the Victorian appetite for mellifluous, vaguely exotic names, secured Leila a foothold in Anglo-American nomenclature, where archival U.S. birth records place it as high as 142nd in 1884, followed by a gradual mid-century ebb and a late-twentieth-century resurgence catalyzed in part by popular music (“Layla,” 1970) and a broader cultural turn toward Arabic-derived appellations. Since 2010 the name has hovered just inside or adjacent to the national Top 200—most recently ranking 251st in 2024—suggesting a stable, recognizable, yet non-saturated option for contemporary parents. Beyond its etymology, Leila carries associative imagery of starlit calm and cosmopolitan refinement, reinforced by cognates such as Laila, Layla, and Leyla across Persian, Turkish, French, and English usage, while its phonetic simplicity allows effortless integration into modern speech.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as LAY-luh (/leɪˈlə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Leila
| Leila de Lima is a Filipino politician, lawyer, human rights advocate, and law professor who has represented Mamamayang Liberal since 2025, after serving as justice secretary from 2010 to 2015 and as senator from 2016 to 2022. |
| Leila Ghandi is a Moroccan photographer and journalist nicknamed the Moroccan Titouan Lamazou and Bent Battouta. |
| Leila Janah was an American businesswoman who founded and served as CEO of Sama and LXMI. |
| Leila Lopes is an Angolan beauty queen crowned Miss Universe 2011 after winning Miss Angola UK 2010 and Miss Angola 2010. |
| Leila Seth was a trailblazing Indian judge, the first woman on the Delhi High Court and first woman state Chief Justice, a Supreme Court designated senior counsel who served on the Verma Committee and advanced equal property rights for daughters. |
| Leila Hassan Howe is a British editor and activist, a founding member of the Race Today Collective, later editor of Race Today, a Black Unity and Freedom Party member, and co-editor of a 2019 collection. |
| Leila Hatami is an acclaimed Iranian actress known for realistic drama roles, gaining worldwide fame for A Separation in 2011 and winning the Silver Bear for Best Actress. |
| Leila Gerstein is an American TV producer and screenwriter. |
| Australian born actress Leila George D'Onofrio is the daughter of actors Vincent D'Onofrio and Greta Scacchi. |
| Leila Bennett was an American film actress known for supporting comic roles as sidekicks, maids, and scatterbrained characters. |
| Leila Megàne - Leila Megane was a Welsh mezzo-soprano opera singer. |
| Leila Pahlavi was an Iranian princess and the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Shah and Farah Pahlavi. |
| Leila Shahid is a pioneering Palestinian diplomat and the first woman Palestinian ambassador, serving in Ireland, the Netherlands, and France, later as General Delegate to the EU, Belgium, and Luxembourg from 2006 to 2014. |
| Leila Arab, known as Leila, is an Iranian-born London-based producer and DJ with releases on Rephlex, XL and Warp and extensive collaborations with Bjork. |
| Leila Salazar-Lopez - Leila Salazar Lopez has led the nonprofit Amazon Watch since 2015, partnering with indigenous peoples to protect the Amazon rainforest and defend their rights and territories. |
