Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2016

Leela

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,282 Trend → Stable

A female given name from Sanskrit used in India, a spelling variant of Lila.

Rank 2025
#1,282
among girls · ↓20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
175
named Leela · -5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 9,184
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2016
232 babies
All-time total
4,545
#2,739 all-time among girls
First recorded
1898
in Social Security records

Leela popularity over time

4,545 babies have been named Leela since 1898, 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
0.040.080.110.1518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2016Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s 5 1 – #1,832
1900s – – – –
1910s 5 1 – #5,232
1920s 5 1 0% #5,396
1930s – – – –
1940s 16 2 – #4,763
1950s 17 2 +6% #4,927
1960s 47 5 +176% #4,340
1970s 109 11 +132% #4,487
1980s 158 16 +45% #3,574
1990s 194 19 +23% #4,068
2000s 864 86 +345% #1,598
2010s 2,034 203 +135% #1,088
2020s (to 2025) 1,091 182 -11% #1,194

Where Leela 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 174 0.11 outside top 500
2027 173 0.11 outside top 500
2028 172 0.11 outside top 500
2029 172 0.11 outside top 500
2030 171 0.11 outside top 500

Where Leela is most popular

Girls named Leela per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.111 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Illinois.

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 Leela 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
Minnesota 24 0.222 +101%
New Jersey 34 0.188 +70%
Illinois 42 0.183 +66%
New York 71 0.179 +62%
California 135 0.161 +45%
Washington 23 0.159 +44%
Massachusetts 17 0.141 +27%
Georgia 31 0.136 +23%
Maryland 13 0.123 +11%
Michigan 22 0.121 +9%
Colorado 11 0.099 -11%
Texas 77 0.096 -13%
Tennessee 15 0.095 -14%
Virginia 14 0.082 -26%
Florida 34 0.079 -28%
Pennsylvania 18 0.076 -31%
Ohio 18 0.076 -31%
North Carolina 17 0.075 -32%
Missouri 6 0.050 -55%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
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 Leela

Leela is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,282 in 2025 with 175 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1898, 4,545 American babies have been named Leela. Its peak came in 2016, when 232 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Leela stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Leela?

The median living Leela is about 11 years old; half are between 6 and 17. An estimated 4,500 people named Leela are alive in the United States today.

median 11 020406080100

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

Leela year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 175 #1,282
2024 185 #1,262
2023 179 #1,282
2022 179 #1,321
2021 179 #1,287
2020 194 #1,194
2019 192 #1,225
2018 196 #1,207
2017 217 #1,146
2016 232 #1,106
2015 207 #1,207
2014 218 #1,146
2013 227 #1,088
2012 209 #1,177
2011 201 #1,202
2010 135 #1,608
2009 141 #1,598
2008 134 #1,674
2007 126 #1,731
2006 123 #1,705
2005 74 #2,394
2004 70 #2,438
2003 69 #2,400
2002 46 #3,122
2001 39 #3,461
2000 42 #3,246
1995 16 #5,834
1990 25 #4,068
1985 15 #4,986
1980 19 #4,076
1975 8 #6,850
1970 6 #7,554
1965 9 #4,675
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 5 #5,396
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Leela?

The median living Leela is about 11 years old. Half of all living Leelas are between 6 and 17 years old.

How many people named Leela are alive today?

An estimated 4,500 people named Leela are alive in the United States, based on 4,545 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leela mean?

A female given name from Sanskrit used in India, a spelling variant of Lila.

How popular is the name Leela in 2025?

Leela ranked #1,282 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 175 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leela?

4,545 babies have been named Leela in the United States since 1898, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leela most popular?

Leela peaked in 2016, when 232 newborns received the name.

Is Leela a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Leela rising or falling?

Leela has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Leela become more popular?

Leela looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 171 girls named Leela in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Leela

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

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