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Leyla as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Leyla

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The baby name Leyla is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈleɪ.lə/ (LAY-lah).

Leyla is Arabic in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Arabic
Pronunciation: /ˈleɪ.lə/ (LAY-lah)

What is the meaning of the name Leyla ?

The baby name Leyla is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈleɪ.lə/ (LAY-lah).

Leyla is Arabic in Origin.

Leyla is the Turkish and Azerbaijani form of Arabic Laylā (ليلى), built on layl “night.” Its core sense is “night; dark beauty,” with classical Arabic poetry lending connotations of rapture or intoxication. The name traveled early into Persian and Urdu, and in Hebrew layla is the common word for “night,” which has helped the name’s cross‑cultural familiarity.

Usage is anchored in the legendary love story of Qays and Layla, later immortalized by Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th‑century romance Layli/Leyli and Majnun, from which Ottoman Turkish popularized the Leyla spelling. In contemporary records, Leyla is widespread in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Caucasus, and appears across the Arab world, Iran, and the Balkans (notably as Lejla in Bosnian). Western visibility rose in the 20th century, aided by the song “Layla,” which boosted all spellings. Common variants include Leila, Laila, Layla, Leïla (French), Lejla (Slavic), and Leyli; diminutives vary by language.

Leyla has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Leyla

Leyla Zana Politician · Born 1961 · Turkey Leyla Zana is best known as a Kurdish politician and activist in Turkey. She became internationally known after being imprisoned for 10 years over political activism that Turkish courts said threatened the unity of the country.

Leyla – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2025 #1 — 411
AZ Girls 0 #1 413 1,051
TM Girls 0 #4 57 574
AZ 0 #10 39 706
ET Girls 0 #16 1 372
TM Boys 0 #34 3 614
HN Girls 0 #37 2 884
GE 0 #42 3 997
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
GE Girls 0 #74 32 1,564
AF 0 #76 1 1,883
KZ 0 #76 15 1,452
BG 0 #79 4 1,799
MD Boys 0 #81 1 756
Switzerland Girls 2024 #83 54 1,786
RS 0 #84 1 923
LT 0 #87 2 949
TR 0 #88 27,434 19,440
AF Girls 0 #91 4 2,402
ID Girls 0 #102 1 3,319
SD 0 #102 1 2,130
TW 0 #103 1 4,523
QA 0 #105 2 7,011
GE Boys 0 #109 2 2,055
PH 0 #110 1 5,607
BN Girls 0 #113 2 5,459
HU 0 #115 1 1,675
Norway Girls 2025 #116 11 453
EC 0 #116 6 2,502
AZ Boys 0 #119 12 1,400
OM 0 #120 2 6,215
CY Girls 0 #121 5 3,755
Sweden Girls 2022 #127 55 1,568
BG Girls 0 #132 97 3,559
GR 0 #133 3 3,911
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
PA 0 #133 6 3,797
RS Girls 0 #133 5 1,651
Belgium Girls 2024 #135 51 424
RU Girls 0 #136 892 11,913
KZ Girls 0 #142 275 5,862
BW Girls 0 #151 1 4,216
MT Girls 0 #153 1 3,773
CR 0 #163 3 5,526
PR Girls 0 #165 3 3,171
RU 0 #165 25 3,641
SI Girls 0 #170 8 2,769
LU Girls 0 #176 10 4,850
UY 0 #179 4 2,477
AE 0 #182 6 10,220
IR Girls 0 #186 545 8,334
AR 0 #192 2 2,915
DK 0 #199 8 5,198
LT Girls 0 #199 2 1,904
Austria 0 #201 13 850
PL 0 #212 1 2,600
AO Girls 0 #213 5 4,575
BG Boys 0 #219 2 3,850
HU Girls 0 #219 7 3,308
GR Girls 0 #221 22 6,293
AL Girls 0 #225 3 4,141
IR 0 #225 7 4,221
PS 0 #226 1 5,692
DK Girls 0 #229 89 7,429
NA Girls 0 #237 1 7,146
Canada Girls 2024 #240 46 2,795
BD 0 #241 1 5,992
EC Boys 0 #246 1 3,322
JP Girls 0 #247 5 6,592
AO Boys 0 #249 1 5,568
PT 0 #250 1 4,161
Austria Girls 0 #251 191 1,885
EC Girls 0 #253 6 3,650
Germany Girls 0 #258 1,215 4,949
France Girls 2021 #266 147 3,185
IL 0 #276 7 6,291
PE 0 #278 33 6,350
SG 0 #282 1 11,010
TW Girls 0 #288 2 8,139
QA Girls 0 #289 28 15,378
HR Girls 0 #291 4 3,687
KZ Boys 0 #292 5 6,578
SA 0 #307 6 10,560
SD Girls 0 #316 30 7,678
CL 0 #320 93 6,867
CZ Girls 0 #330 12 5,378
JO Girls 0 #332 8 7,570
GT 0 #334 5 5,948
CL Girls 0 #338 851 14,098
CN Girls 0 #340 10 8,829
OM Girls 0 #340 57 15,987
PL Girls 0 #340 15 5,096
MY 0 #346 9 12,352
PA Girls 0 #347 139 9,861
AE Girls 0 #349 207 20,968
PE Girls 0 #352 1,095 14,861
BR 0 #354 7 5,969
NL 0 #354 38 2,481
GH Boys 0 #361 1 8,138
BO 0 #362 20 6,868
MU Girls 0 #362 1 8,539
Finland Girls 0 #363 29 1,368
Germany 0 #373 65 2,542
IQ Girls 0 #380 125 11,303
CR Girls 0 #384 152 11,342
YE 0 #393 6 8,639
MX 0 #402 12 8,339
EG 0 #410 3 6,387
SA Girls 0 #412 610 25,931
UY Boys 0 #413 1 5,922
CO 0 #423 58 7,768
PH Girls 0 #424 6 13,098
BO Girls 0 #426 198 9,488
NL Girls 0 #430 696 5,933
PT Girls 0 #438 14 7,952
Spain 0 #439 14 2,326
GT Girls 0 #461 45 7,500
SD Boys 0 #466 1 10,523
UY Girls 0 #469 42 6,731
ZA 0 #472 3 14,421
KW Girls 0 #473 43 19,177
United States Girls 2024 #477 499 8,487
PS Girls 0 #481 43 10,981
AR Boys 0 #482 2 7,628
RU Boys 0 #492 14 12,621
AR Girls 0 #495 105 8,289
PA Boys 0 #503 3 9,305
CR Boys 0 #510 1 10,188
CM Girls 0 #526 15 11,671
BH 0 #529 25 17,937
LB 0 #529 130 13,263
IR Boys 0 #534 19 10,162
CO Girls 0 #544 772 16,140
LY 0 #551 9 12,703
IL Girls 0 #552 66 11,648
PS Boys 0 #561 1 10,655
SG Girls 0 #571 16 18,916
Finland Girls 2026 #577 171 3,895
TN 0 #608 237 13,765
BO Boys 0 #619 4 9,244
IL Boys 0 #625 1 10,983
SY 0 #641 88 11,684
HK Girls 0 #647 4 16,104
IN Girls 0 #654 1 13,121
IT 0 #687 28 4,183
CL Boys 0 #693 8 13,390
IQ Boys 0 #694 4 13,071
BR Girls 0 #736 209 12,708
Spain Girls 0 #736 251 5,561
BR Boys 0 #785 1 12,213
KW Boys 0 #798 9 18,755
MA 0 #821 315 20,986
NG Girls 0 #824 3 15,093
PE Boys 0 #867 12 14,506
DZ 0 #872 308 20,130
MY Girls 0 #897 98 24,821
EG Girls 0 #899 61 14,742
OM Boys 0 #916 3 17,948
NL Boys 0 #934 18 5,873
Germany Boys 0 #935 18 5,697
MX Girls 0 #963 221 17,781
IT Girls 0 #966 515 9,415
CO Boys 0 #979 3 15,656
MX Boys 0 #1,032 2 16,355
AE Boys 0 #1,082 11 22,615
ZA Girls 0 #1,099 43 25,928
MY Boys 0 #1,181 2 25,439
ZA Boys 0 #1,272 1 25,619
SA Boys 0 #1,546 69 28,008

Leyla is popular in 90 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Norway
Canada
Wallonia, Belgium
Belgium

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Leyla

Leyla is predominantly a girl's name.
Leyla is a 2 syllable name, pronounced /ˈleɪ.lə/ (LAY-lah).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Layla, Leila, Laila, Laylah, Leylah and Leilah.
Yes, very popular — Leyla ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 11 countries.
Leyla ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Leyla's popularity is rising significantly. It moved from #297 in 2011 to #266 in 2021 in France.
Yes — 1 notable people named Leyla are in our database, including Leyla Zana (Politician).