Lela
Lela was given to 76 girls in 2025, #2,374 among girls’ names; 43,073 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 12,000 Americans named Lela and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (28% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 23 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lela by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lela mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lela is “a female given name from Georgian ლელა (lela).”
Also “a female given name from Arabic, possibly a variant of Leila.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lela?
#2,374 among girls’ names, 2025
Lela fell from #1,530 in 2015 to #2,374 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 82.3 to 47.3 per million.
907 babies in 1921, the peak
Lela peaked in 1921, when 907 girls were given it, #212 among girls’ names. The 76 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76 | #2,374 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 86 | #2,209 | 0.05 |
| 2023 | 89 | #2,151 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 100 | #1,970 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 111 | #1,823 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 109 | #1,814 | 0.07 |
| 2019 | 116 | #1,765 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 139 | #1,562 | 0.08 |
| 2017 | 142 | #1,548 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 150 | #1,514 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 147 | #1,530 | 0.08 |
| 2014 | 152 | #1,477 | 0.09 |
| 2013 | 156 | #1,444 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 178 | #1,325 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 142 | #1,552 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 145 | #1,542 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 161 | #1,446 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 157 | #1,492 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 176 | #1,378 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 152 | #1,465 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 143 | #1,476 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 134 | #1,507 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 122 | #1,584 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 106 | #1,723 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 111 | #1,643 | 0.06 |
| 2000 | 118 | #1,536 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 92 | #1,745 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 63 | #2,262 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 63 | #2,180 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 76 | #1,904 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 57 | #2,321 | 0.03 |
| 1994 | 52 | #2,439 | 0.03 |
| 1993 | 72 | #1,955 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 56 | #2,331 | 0.03 |
| 1991 | 80 | #1,786 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 76 | #1,865 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 67 | #1,930 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 66 | #1,878 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 84 | #1,524 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 75 | #1,595 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 94 | #1,376 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 90 | #1,346 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 104 | #1,225 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 92 | #1,349 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 110 | #1,197 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 82 | #1,477 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 106 | #1,230 | 0.07 |
| 1978 | 105 | #1,197 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 101 | #1,209 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 93 | #1,219 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 85 | #1,305 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 101 | #1,146 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 127 | #951 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 106 | #1,080 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 112 | #1,078 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 132 | #964 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 106 | #1,071 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 133 | #894 | 0.08 |
| 1967 | 103 | #1,015 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 126 | #899 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 147 | #821 | 0.08 |
| 1964 | 166 | #814 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 168 | #801 | 0.09 |
| 1962 | 165 | #814 | 0.08 |
| 1961 | 195 | #745 | 0.10 |
| 1960 | 169 | #787 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 207 | #697 | 0.10 |
| 1958 | 216 | #674 | 0.11 |
| 1957 | 209 | #686 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 238 | #620 | 0.12 |
| 1955 | 244 | #589 | 0.12 |
| 1954 | 250 | #561 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 248 | #554 | 0.13 |
| 1952 | 270 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1951 | 234 | #549 | 0.13 |
| 1950 | 266 | #493 | 0.16 |
| 1949 | 356 | #416 | 0.21 |
| 1948 | 323 | #444 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 323 | #455 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 301 | #446 | 0.19 |
| 1945 | 326 | #394 | 0.25 |
| 1944 | 328 | #390 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 344 | #393 | 0.25 |
| 1942 | 371 | #365 | 0.27 |
| 1941 | 355 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1940 | 335 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1939 | 359 | #333 | 0.33 |
| 1938 | 384 | #320 | 0.35 |
| 1937 | 418 | #302 | 0.39 |
| 1936 | 407 | #301 | 0.39 |
| 1935 | 427 | #290 | 0.41 |
| 1934 | 466 | #284 | 0.45 |
| 1933 | 510 | #273 | 0.51 |
| 1932 | 504 | #276 | 0.47 |
| 1931 | 558 | #260 | 0.52 |
| 1930 | 586 | #259 | 0.52 |
| 1929 | 631 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1928 | 659 | #243 | 0.57 |
| 1927 | 682 | #250 | 0.57 |
| 1926 | 721 | #244 | 0.61 |
| 1925 | 818 | #228 | 0.67 |
| 1924 | 863 | #223 | 0.69 |
| 1923 | 816 | #226 | 0.68 |
| 1922 | 865 | #220 | 0.72 |
| 1921 | 907 | #212 | 0.74 |
| 1920 | 878 | #218 | 0.73 |
| 1919 | 898 | #207 | 0.79 |
| 1918 | 896 | #209 | 0.77 |
| 1917 | 828 | #212 | 0.77 |
| 1916 | 888 | #199 | 0.85 |
| 1915 | 774 | #213 | 0.79 |
| 1914 | 647 | #202 | 0.85 |
| 1913 | 595 | #188 | 1.0 |
| 1912 | 523 | #184 | 0.94 |
| 1911 | 489 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1910 | 469 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1909 | 414 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1908 | 411 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1907 | 453 | #144 | 1.4 |
| 1906 | 447 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1905 | 465 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1904 | 431 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1903 | 420 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1902 | 459 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 1901 | 443 | #117 | 1.9 |
| 1900 | 530 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1899 | 417 | #116 | 1.8 |
| 1898 | 459 | #115 | 1.8 |
| 1897 | 438 | #116 | 1.9 |
| 1896 | 425 | #113 | 1.8 |
| 1895 | 388 | #121 | 1.7 |
| 1894 | 413 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1893 | 358 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 1892 | 353 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1891 | 337 | #118 | 1.8 |
| 1890 | 304 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 1889 | 268 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 1888 | 292 | #127 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 207 | #131 | 1.4 |
| 1886 | 230 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1885 | 168 | #139 | 1.3 |
| 1884 | 213 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 1883 | 163 | #126 | 1.5 |
| 1882 | 143 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1881 | 125 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1880 | 106 | #142 | 1.2 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lela a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lela has been given almost only to girls: 68 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lela: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lela, and how old are they?
12,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 28% of the 43,073 Americans ever recorded as Lela. The median Lela alive today is 58 years old; half are between 23 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 12,330 people named Lela (12,306 women and girls, 24 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 13,794 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,060 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,450 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,630 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,220 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,040 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,560 |
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 Lela born?
The states with the most babies named Lela are Texas, Alabama and North Carolina, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 3,304 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Alabama | 1,875 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| North Carolina | 1,706 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Mississippi | 1,673 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| Tennessee | 1,592 | #1,236 | 1.9× |
| Oklahoma | 1,466 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Illinois | 1,446 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 1,398 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| California | 1,223 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Arkansas | 1,171 | not ranked | 2.1× |
Where Lela is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lela is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Lela 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 463,110 babies since 1880, Lela is the third most given (9.3% of them). In 2025 it was given to 76 of their 7,015 babies (1.1%), the sixth most given that year.
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 Lela
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 Lela and names like it
- Compare Lela and LeahBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLela peaked in 1921.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lela since 1910.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Lela.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lela alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.