Girl's name
Leila
Say it LAY-luh
Arabic origin 2 syllables
Where Leila is loved, common and rare
Rare in Canada, Italy, Catalonia and 14 more places.
1 in 1,193 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Quebec 117thItaly 146thCatalonia 207th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 19 of the 40 official lists, among them Quebec (117th), Italy (146th) and Catalonia (207th).
Show all 19 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec province | 117th 2025 | 48 | about 1 in 542 |
| Italy | 146th 2024 | 164 | 1 in 1,092 |
| Catalonia region | 207th 2025 | 19 | 1 in 1,014 |
| France as Leïla | 211th 2025 | 390 | 1 in 735 |
| Sweden | 213th 2025 | 38 | about 1 in 1,057 |
| Slovenia | 232nd 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 1,322 |
| Scotland | 242nd 2025 | 15 | 1 in 1,193 |
| Poland | 248th 2025 | 21 | 1 in 5,704 |
| England and Wales | 268th 2025 | 171 | 1 in 1,481 |
| Berlin city | 277th 2023 | 11 | about 1 in 1,319 |
| Ontario province | 320th 2024 | 40 | about 1 in 1,362 |
| Switzerland | 322nd 2025 | 26 | 1 in 1,307 |
| Ireland | 325th 2025 | 12 | 1 in 1,760 |
| Northern Ireland | 334th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 1,822 |
| Norway | 391st 2025 | 7 | 1 in 3,114 |
| British Columbia province | 400th 2023 | 8 | about 1 in 1,495 |
| Austria | 515th 2025 | 9 | 1 in 3,969 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| The Netherlands | 767th 2025 | 14 | about 1 in 4,358 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Munich, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Spain, Hungary and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands). How we count, and every source
About the name
Leila comes from the Arabic laylā, and it was taken into English through nineteenth-century literature. No meaning is recorded, so it is best described through that Arabic origin and literary path into English.
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Two syllables, said LAY-luh, with the stress on the first. Leïla is the French spelling, and Layla, Leyla, Laila and Lejla are the main alternatives.
It is used in about twenty regions. Its best English-speaking position is in Quebec, and it is also used in Scotland, England and Wales, Italy, Catalonia and France. French records place its peak in 1994, and it is rising in some regions and falling in others, which suggests a steady, well-known name rather than a new trend.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- LAY-luh, 2 syllables
- Origin
- Arabic
Counted together here: Leïla.
Etymology
From Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā). Taken into English usage through nineteenth-century literature.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 4 of 18 regions, falling in 6.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 194 | 192 | 221 | 218 | 200 | 231 | 236 | 254 | 249 | 268 |
| Scotland | 240 | 327 | 301 | 304 | 257 | 316 | 260 | 365 | 275 | 242 |
| Northern Ireland | 353 | 355 | 218 | 336 | 333 | 446 | 302 | 334 | ||
| Ireland | 254 | 260 | 218 | 247 | 194 | 284 | 203 | 316 | 320 | 325 |
| Ontario | 236 | 247 | 219 | 256 | 234 | 255 | 196 | 304 | 320 | |
| British Columbia | 137 | 243 | 415 | 210 | 358 | 446 | 286 | 400 | ||
| South Australia | 130 | 196 | ||||||||
| Quebec | 120 | 108 | 102 | 133 | 189 | 123 | 169 | 121 | 115 | 117 |
| France | 175 | 162 | 158 | 166 | 188 | 187 | 210 | 190 | 185 | 211 |
| The Netherlands | 749 | 727 | 811 | 611 | 530 | 602 | 522 | 821 | 767 | |
| Austria | 416 | 346 | 454 | 441 | 319 | 379 | 386 | 407 | 429 | 515 |
| Switzerland | 151 | 160 | 153 | 178 | 183 | 245 | 198 | 168 | 300 | 322 |
| Berlin | 331 | 281 | 266 | 255 | 642 | 361 | 260 | 277 | ||
| Munich | 212 | 232 | 208 | 194 | 231 | |||||
| Bonn | 314 | 176 | 134 | 419 | ||||||
| Leipzig | 192 | 411 | 263 | 151 | 262 | 254 | 361 | |||
| Rostock | 136 | 202 | 90 | 158 | ||||||
| Norway | 461 | 471 | 388 | 430 | 478 | 391 | ||||
| Sweden | 260 | 239 | 288 | 285 | 217 | 269 | 219 | 234 | 234 | 213 |
| Catalonia | 298 | 272 | 179 | 235 | 222 | 218 | 265 | 256 | 193 | 207 |
| Italy | 230 | 209 | 188 | 186 | 188 | 159 | 174 | 169 | 146 | |
| Poland | 244 | 244 | 221 | 218 | 255 | 251 | 269 | 252 | 252 | 248 |
| Hungary | 73 | 80 | 89 | |||||||
| Slovenia | 118 | 167 | 200 | 143 | 168 | 141 | 232 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 268 | 171 | 67.5 |
| 2024 | 249 | 193 | 74.8 |
| 2023 | 254 | 180 | 70.2 |
| 2022 | 236 | 200 | 75.9 |
| 2021 | 231 | 217 | 79.2 |
| 2020 | 200 | 247 | 92.0 |
| 2019 | 218 | 225 | 80.3 |
| 2018 | 221 | 231 | 80.1 |
| 2017 | 192 | 276 | 92.3 |
| 2016 | 194 | 282 | 91.8 |
| 2015 | 177 | 311 | 101.0 |
| 2014 | 171 | 319 | 104.0 |
| 2013 | 143 | 364 | 118.0 |
| 2012 | 132 | 431 | 133.8 |
| 2011 | 136 | 413 | 128.5 |
| 2010 | 137 | 423 | 131.8 |
| 2009 | 155 | 350 | 111.7 |
| 2008 | 158 | 334 | 105.8 |
| 2007 | 199 | 268 | 87.5 |
| 2006 | 191 | 265 | 88.6 |
| 2005 | 206 | 228 | 79.1 |
| 2004 | 226 | 201 | 70.3 |
| 2003 | 253 | 168 | 60.3 |
| 2002 | 263 | 150 | 56.1 |
| 2001 | 282 | 135 | 50.4 |
| 2000 | 304 | 119 | 43.6 |
| 1999 | 281 | 129 | 45.8 |
| 1998 | 330 | 107 | 37.0 |
| 1997 | 371 | 87 | 29.7 |
| 1996 | 393 | 83 | 28.0 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Leila in France since 1925 were born in or after 1994. First recorded in 1931. Her peak year there: 1994, at 185.8 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Leila per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 1994 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Leila
1 in 424 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 271 in Ireland
1 in 1,064 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 1,408 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 782 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 1,921 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 1,278 in Scotland
1 in 898 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Leila.
1 in 3,578 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Leila.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Mariam.
1 in 660 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Leila.
Middle names for Leila
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Leila Grace
2-1 beats · initials LG
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Leila Olivia
2-4 beats · initials LO · Leila slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Leila slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Leila Sophia
2-3 beats · initials LS
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Leila Maria
2-3 beats · initials LM
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Leila Rose
2-1 beats · initials LR
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Leila Emily
2-3 beats · initials LE · Leila slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Leila slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Leila Julia
2-3 beats · initials LJ
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Leila Miriam
2-3 beats · initials LM
Changes the beat after Leila: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Leila
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 486 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 852 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 424 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 754 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 491 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 260 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 334 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
1 in 405 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Leila across countries and decades.
Famous people named Leila
Leïla Slimani, Leila Lopes, Leila Hatami, Leila Pahlavi, Leila Abashidze, Leila Ahmed, Leila Aboulela and Leïla Bekhti.
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French-Moroccan writer and journalist born 1981
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Angolan beauty pageant titleholder born 1986
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Iranian actress born 1972
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Iranian princess (1970-2001)
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Georgian actress, film director, and writer (1929-2018)
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Egyptian-American writer and professor born 1940
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Sudanese writer and playwright born 1964
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French actress born 1984
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Leila
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Leila?
Her best rank is No. 117 in Quebec in 2025, about 1 in 542 girls. She is in the published lists of 19 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Leila?
LAY-luh, with 2 syllables.
Is Leila getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 4 of 18 regions, falling in 6.
Which sister names go with Leila?
The deck's top five sisters for Leila: Fatima, Sarah, Amina, Nadia and Melissa. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.