Layla

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A few things about Layla you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Layla

Layla El

British professional wrestler, dancer, and model

Choose Layla and your child shares a first name with Layla El, a British professional wrestler, dancer, and model. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Layla, like who?” Layla El's Wikipedia article is available in 29 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Layla El on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Miguel Discart, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 301 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Layla, 5,338 babies in all. In a school of 500 kids, there'd probably be one other Layla.
• 📜HistoryLayla first shows up in US birth records in 1950, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 75 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2019, when it reached #23.
• 📈Then vs nowLayla is 8.6× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 2,601 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 301.
• 📍Where it's lovedLayla is most popular in Delaware, where it ranks #10, followed by New Mexico (#16) and Connecticut (#21). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Arabic, Layla means “night”. Our records link it to African, Arabic and Swahili roots.
• 🌍OriginLayla is the most popular African girl name in the US. That's out of 471 African girl and unisex names in our list.

About the name Layla

Layla is a girl name of African, Arabic and Swahili origin meaning “night”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with L and ending in “-yla”. US birth records list Layla for girls from 1950 to 2025, in 62 of those 76 years. Its best year was 2019, when it ranked #23 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #36, with 5,338 babies.

Origin:African namesArabic namesSwahili names