girls' name ★ peaked 2010

Leila

Meaning A female given name from Arabic Gender Girl Rank 2025 #259 Trend → Stable

A female given name from Arabic.

Rank 2025
#259
among girls · ↑8 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,193
named Leila
How common
1 in 1,347
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2010
1,509 babies
All-time total
55,447
#549 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Leila popularity over time

55,447 babies have been named Leila since 1880, 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 1,079 – 1,079 108 – #165
1890s 1,588 – 1,588 159 +47% #179
1900s 1,529 – 1,529 153 -4% #239
1910s 2,830 – 2,830 283 +85% #304
1920s 3,340 – 3,340 334 +18% #323
1930s 2,473 – 2,473 247 -26% #366
1940s 1,852 6 1,858 186 -25% #482
1950s 1,740 – 1,740 174 -6% #657
1960s 1,578 – 1,578 158 -9% #746
1970s 1,624 – 1,624 162 +3% #786
1980s 2,106 – 2,106 211 +30% #736
1990s 2,177 – 2,177 218 +3% #735
2000s 9,904 – 9,904 990 +355% #226
2010s 13,914 5 13,919 1,392 +41% #205
2020s (to 2025) 7,702 – 7,702 1,284 -8% #205

Where Leila 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 1,175 0.73 #268
2027 1,161 0.72 #269
2028 1,148 0.71 #273
2029 1,138 0.71 #274
2030 1,129 0.70 #276

Where Leila is most popular

Girls named Leila per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.776 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Connecticut.

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 Leila 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
Hawaii 78 6.80 +777%
District of Columbia 38 3.21 +313%
Connecticut 85 1.46 +88%
California 1,185 1.41 +82%
Rhode Island 17 1.36 +75%
Alaska 11 1.28 +65%
Nevada 59 1.27 +64%
New Jersey 229 1.27 +64%
Delaware 14 1.23 +59%
Florida 525 1.23 +58%
Massachusetts 144 1.19 +54%
Arizona 165 1.18 +52%
New York 464 1.17 +51%
Washington 165 1.14 +47%
Maryland 118 1.11 +44%
Virginia 178 1.04 +35%
Utah 76 0.913 +18%
Illinois 209 0.913 +18%
Colorado 99 0.887 +14%
Texas 711 0.884 +14%
Michigan 161 0.884 +14%
Oregon 57 0.875 +13%
Minnesota 90 0.834 +8%
Georgia 179 0.788 ≈ national
South Carolina 67 0.745 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 176 0.744 ≈ national
New Mexico 18 0.740 -5%
Wisconsin 65 0.631 -19%
Arkansas 32 0.605 -22%
Iowa 35 0.599 -23%
North Carolina 131 0.575 -26%
Tennessee 88 0.555 -28%
Nebraska 19 0.529 -32%
Missouri 62 0.514 -34%
Mississippi 24 0.513 -34%
Ohio 120 0.506 -35%
Oklahoma 37 0.503 -35%
Kansas 28 0.485 -37%
Indiana 67 0.477 -38%
Louisiana 38 0.434 -44%
Idaho 13 0.389 -50%
West Virginia 10 0.382 -51%
Kentucky 32 0.374 -52%
Alabama 35 0.373 -52%
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
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 Leila

Leila is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #259 in 2025 with 1,193 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 55,447 American babies have been named Leila. Its peak came in 2010, when 1,509 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 Leila stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Leila?

The median living Leila is about 15 years old; half are between 8 and 26. An estimated 42 thousand people named Leila are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

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

Leila 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 1,193 #259 – –
2024 1,197 #267 – –
2023 1,272 #240 – –
2022 1,246 #246 – –
2021 1,385 #214 – –
2020 1,409 #205 – –
2019 1,388 #225 – –
2018 1,358 #239 – –
2017 1,410 #220 5 #13,464
2016 1,395 #229 – –
2015 1,309 #248 – –
2014 1,331 #243 – –
2013 1,472 #215 – –
2012 1,365 #234 – –
2011 1,377 #231 – –
2010 1,509 #205 – –
2009 1,390 #240 – –
2008 1,499 #226 – –
2007 1,394 #251 – –
2006 1,161 #285 – –
2005 1,043 #308 – –
2004 893 #355 – –
2003 893 #345 – –
2002 638 #451 – –
2001 566 #492 – –
2000 427 #595 – –
1995 217 #880 – –
1990 183 #998 – –
1985 220 #770 – –
1980 184 #847 – –
1975 157 #852 – –
1970 130 #972 – –
1965 136 #860 – –
1960 172 #780 – –
1955 177 #711 – –
1950 169 #657 – –
1945 176 #552 – –
1940 183 #514 – –
1935 240 #418 – –
1930 317 #387 – –
1925 344 #367 – –
1920 405 #323 – –
1915 363 #307 – –
1910 163 #304 – –
1905 154 #264 – –
1900 178 #239 – –
1895 147 #228 – –
1890 154 #192 – –
1885 123 #167 – –
1880 80 #165 – –

Famous people named Leila

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

  1. 1 Leila Pahlavi Leila Pahlavi Iranian princess (1970–2001) Contemporary
  2. 2 Leila Khaled Leila Khaled Palestinian militant and activist (born 1944) Contemporary
  3. 3 Leila Hatami Leila Hatami Iranian actress (born 1972) Contemporary
  4. 4 Leila Hyams Leila Hyams American actress (1905–1977) Contemporary
  5. 5 Leila Mourad Leila Mourad Musical artist 1918–1995 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Leila Lopes Leila Lopes Angolan beauty pageant titleholder (born 1986) Contemporary
  7. 7 Leila Denmark American pediatrician (1898–2012) 19th century
  8. 8 Leila Ahmed Leila Ahmed Egyptian-American writer and professor b. 1940 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Leila Aboulela Leila Aboulela Sudanese writer (born 1964) Contemporary
  10. 10 Leila Meskhi Georgian tennis player b. 1968 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Leila Abashidze Leila Abashidze Georgian actress and film director 1929–2018 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Leila?

The median living Leila is about 15 years old. Half of all living Leilas are between 8 and 26 years old.

How many people named Leila are alive today?

An estimated 42 thousand people named Leila are alive in the United States, based on 55,447 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leila mean?

A female given name from Arabic.

How popular is the name Leila in 2025?

Leila ranked #259 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,193 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leila?

55,447 babies have been named Leila in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leila most popular?

Leila peaked in 2010, when 1,509 newborns received the name.

Is Leila a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Leila rising or falling?

Leila has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Leila become more popular?

Leila looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,129 girls named Leila in 2030, ranking around #276. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Leila?

Well-known people named Leila include Leila Pahlavi (companion), Leila Khaled (social activist), Leila Hatami (actor).

Names like Leila

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

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