Lila

Did you know?

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

⭐ Famous Lila

Lila Downs

Mexican-American singer-songwriter

Choose Lila and your child shares a first name with Lila Downs, a Mexican-American singer-songwriter. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Lila, like who?” Lila Downs's Wikipedia article is available in 115 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Lila Downs on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Secretaría de Cultura Ciudad de México from México, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 962 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Lila, 1,670 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Lila would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLila has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Lilas, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2010, when it reached #155.
• 📈Then vs nowLila is 6.1× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 5,917 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 962.
• 🚀TrendLila has climbed 42 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #186. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedLila is most popular in Washington, D.C., where it ranks #57, followed by Vermont (#75) and Rhode Island (#78). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Sanskrit, Lila means “play”.

About the name Lila

Lila is a girl name meaning “play”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with L and ending in “-ila”. US birth records list Lila for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 2010, when it ranked #155 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #186, with 1,670 babies.