Leylah

Meaning of Leylah

Leylah (pronounced LAY-luh, /leɪˈlə/) constitutes a modern Anglo-American variant of the classical Arabic feminine name Leila, itself rooted in the triliteral root l-y-l meaning “night” and historically evoking themes of nocturnal beauty and romantic devotion as immortalized in Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th-century narrative Layla and Majnun. The orthographic adaptation to Leylah employs a phonetic respelling strategy that aligns with English-language phonotactics while preserving the original stress pattern, and this variant has exhibited moderate yet sustained usage in the United States—maintaining a rank between 882 and 914 in the Social Security Administration’s annual registries from 2019 through 2024—thereby reflecting its enduring appeal among parents seeking a name that bridges classical literary heritage and contemporary sensibility.