Girl names that mean dark
Most widely given today: Layla, Lyla and Kiara.
7 girl names whose sourced meaning includes dark. Where a meaning comes from a related name, we say so; where the source hedges, so do we.
night
Say it LAY-luh
Arabic origin
night
2 syllablesCommon across Canada, the UK, Ireland and five more places. Rare in four German cities, the Netherlands, Israel and seven more places.
1 in 197 girls born in Scotland in 2025
night
Say it LY-luh
Arabic origin
night
2 syllablesCommon across the UK, Ontario and three more places. Rare in British Columbia, Ireland, France and six more places.
1 in 232 girls born in Scotland in 2025
from Keira,
black, dark, little dark one
Say it kee-AR-uh
Irish origin from Keira,
black, dark, little dark one
3 syllablesCommon across Slovenia, Ontario, British Columbia and six more places. Rare in Switzerland, four German cities, France and ten more places.
1 in 743 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
Dark (or dark-haired) beauty
Say it LAY-luh
Arabic origin
Dark (or dark-haired) beauty
2 syllablesCommon across Berlin and one more place. Rare in Austria, three other German cities, Switzerland and 12 more places.
1 in 2,508 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
black, dark, little dark one
Say it KEER-uh
Irish origin
black, dark, little dark one
2 syllablesRare in Britain, Canada, Ireland and four more places.
1 in 1,193 girls born in Scotland in 2025
black, dark
Say it MEL-uh-nee
Greek origin
black, dark
3 syllablesRare in Sweden, four German cities, Austria and 12 more places.
1 in 5,964 girls born in Scotland in 2025
black, dark
Say it meh-LAH-nee-uh
Greek origin
black, dark
4 syllablesCommon in Poland. Rare in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and six more places.
1 in 10,553 girls born in England and Wales in 2025