girls' name ★ peaked 2008

Laila

Meaning night Gender Girl Rank 2025 #413 Trend ↓ Falling 39%

Variant of Leila and Layla, from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā), related to لَيْلَة (layla, “night”).

Rank 2025
#413
among girls · ↓42 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
755
named Laila · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,129
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2008
2,414 babies
All-time total
43,507
#658 all-time among girls
First recorded
1884
in Social Security records

Laila popularity over time

43,507 babies have been named Laila since 1884, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 7 – 7 1 – #891
1890s 10 – 10 1 +43% #1,532
1900s 17 – 17 2 +70% #1,693
1910s 175 – 175 18 +929% #1,366
1920s 177 – 177 18 +1% #1,496
1930s 107 – 107 11 -40% #2,220
1940s 89 – 89 9 -17% #2,390
1950s 136 – 136 14 +53% #2,398
1960s 220 – 220 22 +62% #2,223
1970s 474 – 474 47 +115% #1,597
1980s 694 – 694 69 +46% #1,469
1990s 1,098 – 1,098 110 +58% #1,163
2000s 14,446 11 14,457 1,446 +1217% #135
2010s 19,659 12 19,671 1,967 +36% #140
2020s (to 2025) 6,175 – 6,175 1,029 -48% #227

Where Laila is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 693 0.43 #447
2027 644 0.40 #476
2028 605 0.38 #490
2029 574 0.36 outside top 500
2030 549 0.34 outside top 500

Where Laila is most popular

Girls named Laila per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.601 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Laila born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 31 2.62 +336%
Mississippi 76 1.62 +171%
New Mexico 29 1.19 +99%
Louisiana 98 1.12 +86%
Virginia 185 1.09 +81%
Maryland 115 1.09 +81%
Alabama 95 1.01 +68%
Nevada 45 0.969 +61%
New Jersey 171 0.947 +58%
Georgia 211 0.929 +55%
Michigan 169 0.928 +55%
North Carolina 211 0.927 +54%
Arkansas 48 0.908 +51%
Illinois 205 0.895 +49%
South Carolina 73 0.812 +35%
New York 321 0.811 +35%
Connecticut 46 0.791 +32%
Pennsylvania 184 0.778 +30%
Florida 313 0.732 +22%
Kansas 42 0.728 +21%
Ohio 165 0.695 +16%
Washington 98 0.678 +13%
Massachusetts 81 0.670 +12%
Tennessee 104 0.656 +9%
Texas 517 0.643 +7%
Arizona 86 0.613 ≈ national
Wisconsin 63 0.612 ≈ national
Minnesota 66 0.612 ≈ national
Indiana 84 0.598 ≈ national
Colorado 66 0.591 ≈ national
Oklahoma 43 0.584 ≈ national
Missouri 70 0.581 ≈ national
California 471 0.560 -7%
Oregon 35 0.538 -10%
Nebraska 19 0.529 -12%
Iowa 25 0.428 -29%
Kentucky 35 0.409 -32%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 -34%
Montana 5 0.369 -38%
West Virginia 9 0.343 -43%
Maine 5 0.323 -46%
Utah 14 0.168 -72%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Laila

Laila is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #413 in 2025 with 755 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1884, 43,507 American babies have been named Laila. Its peak came in 2008, when 2,414 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Laila stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Laila?

The median living Laila is about 14 years old; half are between 8 and 18. An estimated 43 thousand people named Laila are alive in the United States today.

median 14 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Laila year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 755 #413 – –
2024 844 #371 – –
2023 989 #313 – –
2022 1,031 #309 – –
2021 1,253 #243 – –
2020 1,303 #227 – –
2019 1,461 #210 – –
2018 1,620 #182 – –
2017 1,751 #173 – –
2016 1,951 #164 – –
2015 1,889 #170 – –
2014 2,147 #149 – –
2013 2,143 #144 5 #13,248
2012 2,250 #143 7 #10,341
2011 2,198 #141 – –
2010 2,249 #140 – –
2009 2,379 #135 5 #13,633
2008 2,414 #140 – –
2007 2,365 #148 – –
2006 1,445 #236 – –
2005 1,453 #234 – –
2004 1,282 #250 6 #10,785
2003 1,306 #250 – –
2002 801 #370 – –
2001 612 #453 – –
2000 389 #644 – –
1995 110 #1,459 – –
1990 78 #1,835 – –
1985 70 #1,671 – –
1980 64 #1,741 – –
1975 62 #1,597 – –
1970 24 #2,893 – –
1965 20 #2,787 – –
1960 18 #2,944 – –
1955 15 #3,040 – –
1950 – – – –
1945 10 #3,019 – –
1940 6 #4,111 – –
1935 7 #3,595 – –
1930 13 #2,487 – –
1925 19 #2,075 – –
1920 25 #1,683 – –
1915 23 #1,547 – –
1910 7 #2,027 – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Laila

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Laila Ali Laila Ali American boxer (born 1977) Contemporary
  2. 2 Laila Freivalds Laila Freivalds Swedish Social Democratic politician b. 1942 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Laila Kinnunen Laila Kinnunen Musical artist 1939–2000 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Laila Schou Nilsen Laila Schou Nilsen Norwegian speed skater, alpine skier, and tennis player (1919–1998) Contemporary
  5. 5 Laila Halme Singer, Russia b. 1934 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Laila, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Laila?

The median living Laila is about 14 years old. Half of all living Lailas are between 8 and 18 years old.

How many people named Laila are alive today?

An estimated 43 thousand people named Laila are alive in the United States, based on 43,507 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Laila mean?

Variant of Leila and Layla, from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā), related to لَيْلَة (layla, “night”).

How popular is the name Laila in 2025?

Laila ranked #413 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 755 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Laila?

43,507 babies have been named Laila in the United States since 1884, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Laila most popular?

Laila peaked in 2008, when 2,414 newborns received the name.

Is Laila a boy or girl name?

Laila is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Laila rising or falling?

Laila is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Laila become more popular?

Laila is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 549 girls named Laila in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Laila?

Well-known people named Laila include Laila Ali (boxer), Laila Freivalds (politician), Laila Kinnunen (singer).

Names like Laila

Names that sound and feel close to Laila: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Laila with similar names → More names starting with L →