Layla

Meaning of Layla

Layla is an Arabic name derived from layl, the word for night. Name dictionaries commonly gloss it as night or dark beauty. The name is central to the classic Arabic love story of Layla and Majnun, about the poet Qays and his beloved Layla, later retold by the Persian poet Nizami; the tale is widely known across the Middle East and beyond. In English, the name is also closely associated with Eric Clapton's 1970 song Layla, recorded with Derek and the Dominos.

Arabic speakers say LAY-lah, with a clear final vowel; English speakers usually say LAY-luh, so the two forms differ only in the final vowel. Both stress the first syllable.

Layla was rare in the United States for most of the twentieth century, with only a handful of recorded births in most years before 1971. It rose sharply from 407th in 2000 to 36th in 2010 and reached its peak rank of 23rd in 2019. In 2025 it ranked 36th, with 5,338 babies given the name, and it has stayed in the top 40 every year since 2010. Its popularity has eased slightly from that peak but remains high.

Pronunciation

Arabic

• Pronunced as LAY-lah (/lajˈla/)

English

• Pronunced as LAY-luh (/leɪˈlə/)

• Leila
• Lila
• Lyla
• Leyla
• Leia
• Lola
• Layna