Laila
Laila was given to 755 girls in 2025, #413 among girls’ names; 43,507 Americans have been recorded with it since 1884 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 42,600 Americans named Laila and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 15 years old and half are between 9 and 19.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Laila by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Laila mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Laila is “a female given name from Arabic, variant of Leila.” Its etymology gives the sense “night” (لَيْلَة).
Variant of Leila and Layla, from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā), related to لَيْلَة (layla, “night”).
/ˈleɪlə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Laila?
#413 among girls’ names, 2025
Laila fell from #170 in 2015 to #413 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 1.1 to 0.47 per 1,000.
2,414 babies in 2008, the peak
Laila peaked in 2008, when 2,414 girls were given it, #140 among girls’ names. The 755 births of 2025 are 31% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 755 | #413 | 0.47 |
| 2024 | 844 | #371 | 0.52 |
| 2023 | 989 | #313 | 0.62 |
| 2022 | 1,031 | #309 | 0.63 |
| 2021 | 1,253 | #243 | 0.76 |
| 2020 | 1,303 | #227 | 0.81 |
| 2019 | 1,461 | #210 | 0.87 |
| 2018 | 1,620 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | 1,751 | #173 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | 1,951 | #164 | 1.1 |
Every recorded year (121)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,889 | #170 | 1.1 |
| 2014 | 2,147 | #149 | 1.2 |
| 2013 | 2,143 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 2012 | 2,250 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 2011 | 2,198 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 2010 | 2,249 | #140 | 1.3 |
| 2009 | 2,379 | #135 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | 2,414 | #140 | 1.3 |
| 2007 | 2,365 | #148 | 1.2 |
| 2006 | 1,445 | #236 | 0.76 |
| 2005 | 1,453 | #234 | 0.79 |
| 2004 | 1,282 | #250 | 0.70 |
| 2003 | 1,306 | #250 | 0.71 |
| 2002 | 801 | #370 | 0.45 |
| 2001 | 612 | #453 | 0.34 |
| 2000 | 389 | #644 | 0.21 |
| 1999 | 168 | #1,161 | 0.09 |
| 1998 | 131 | #1,343 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 116 | #1,435 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 111 | #1,479 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 110 | #1,456 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 87 | #1,705 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 96 | #1,594 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 100 | #1,555 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 101 | #1,537 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 78 | #1,831 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 79 | #1,723 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 60 | #1,996 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 59 | #1,929 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 79 | #1,546 | 0.05 |
| 1985 | 70 | #1,670 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 79 | #1,469 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 76 | #1,501 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 56 | #1,910 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 72 | #1,623 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 64 | #1,741 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 58 | #1,845 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 63 | #1,679 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 49 | #1,987 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 60 | #1,648 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,597 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 53 | #1,720 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 47 | #1,814 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 34 | #2,250 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 24 | #2,908 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 24 | #2,893 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 23 | #2,802 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 21 | #2,825 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 17 | #3,147 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 29 | #2,222 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 20 | #2,786 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 25 | #2,506 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 25 | #2,454 | 0.01 |
| 1962 | 25 | #2,436 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,125 | 0.01 |
| 1960 | 18 | #2,943 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 17 | #2,921 | 0.01 |
| 1958 | 23 | #2,418 | 0.01 |
| 1957 | 17 | #2,875 | 0.01 |
| 1956 | 12 | #3,590 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 15 | #3,039 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 11 | #3,597 | 0.01 |
| 1953 | 20 | #2,397 | 0.01 |
| 1952 | 10 | #3,675 | 0.01 |
| 1951 | 11 | #3,386 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 7 | #4,458 | under 0.01 |
| 1948 | 9 | #3,740 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 9 | #3,874 | 0.01 |
| 1946 | 10 | #3,334 | 0.01 |
| 1945 | 10 | #3,018 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 6 | #4,302 | under 0.01 |
| 1943 | 15 | #2,389 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 10 | #3,095 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 7 | #3,783 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 6 | #4,109 | 0.01 |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,289 | 0.01 |
| 1938 | 11 | #2,666 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 11 | #2,638 | 0.01 |
| 1936 | 11 | #2,607 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 7 | #3,593 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 12 | #2,500 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,219 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 10 | #2,939 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 10 | #2,884 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 13 | #2,486 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 15 | #2,250 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 11 | #2,877 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 17 | #2,208 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,526 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 19 | #2,074 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 8 | #3,842 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 26 | #1,653 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 11 | #3,053 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 31 | #1,496 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 25 | #1,683 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 29 | #1,467 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 17 | #2,151 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 19 | #1,874 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 25 | #1,506 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 23 | #1,547 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 22 | #1,366 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,829 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 12 | #1,668 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,717 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,027 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 5 | #2,378 | 0.01 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,971 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,693 | 0.02 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,724 | 0.02 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,532 | 0.02 |
| 1884 | 7 | #891 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Laila a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Laila has been given almost only to girls: 23 boys in 121 years of records.
Girls and boys named Laila: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Laila, and how old are they?
42,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 43,507 Americans ever recorded as Laila. The median Laila alive today is 15 years old; half are between 9 and 19.
The 2020 Census counted 35,860 people named Laila (35,807 women and girls, 53 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 36,869 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 52 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 225 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 607 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,280 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 21,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 19,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Laila born?
The states with the most babies named Laila are Texas, California and New York, with 28% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 77 | #437 | 0.9× |
| California | 67 | #502 | 0.8× |
| New York | 62 | #273 | 1.2× |
| Florida | 56 | #327 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 38 | #295 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 34 | #319 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 30 | #380 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 30 | #280 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 29 | #394 | 1.3× |
| Virginia | 29 | #293 | 1.2× |
Where Laila is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Laila is most over-represented in District of Columbia: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Laila with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 193,644 babies since 1880, Laila is the second most given (22% of them). In 2025 it was given to 755 of their 6,659 babies (11%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Laila
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Laila and names like it
- Compare Laila and LaylaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sLaila peaked in 2008.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Laila since 1910.
- The top names of 2008The year the most babies were named Laila.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Laila alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with LMost given first.