girl's name
Lyla
LY-luh
- Origin Modern coinage
- Gender Girl
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 66,685
the United States
#80
2025 births
Lyla is a girl's name of disputed origin. It is read as a respelling of the Arabic Layla, meaning "night," and separately as a form of the Welsh or English Lila and Lilah. Sources also offer "light of the moon," which belongs to neither line cleanly.
- Lyla is a name of Modern coinage origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 3,089 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,073 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1884.
Lyla over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 18 |
| 1890s | 109 |
| 1900s | 124 |
| 1910s | 427 |
| 1920s | 856 |
| 1930s | 634 |
| 1940s | 609 |
| 1950s | 441 |
| 1960s | 210 |
| 1970s | 190 |
| 1980s | 215 |
| 1990s | 376 |
| 2000s | 5,969 |
| 2010s | 22,921 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 16,200 |
What Lyla means
Lyla has no single agreed meaning. Through Layla it means night; through Lila it may connect to the Persian for lilac or the Sanskrit for play; and the frequently quoted "light of the moon" appears to be a blend of the two rather than a derivation from either.
Where Lyla comes from
Lyla sits between several older names without clearly descending from any. The strongest candidate is Layla, the Arabic name meaning night, borne by the heroine of the classical romance Layla and Majnun — Lyla is a common English respelling of it. A second line runs through Lila and Lilah, which have their own contested origins in Persian lilak, lilac, and Sanskrit lila, meaning play or divine sport. The gloss "light of the moon" that appears on several reference sites seems to fuse the Arabic night imagery with the Turkish Aylin, and does not follow from either root directly. United States birth records show Lyla rising sharply from the 2000s.
How popular is Lyla?
In 2025, Lyla was given to 3,089 babies in the United States, ranking #80 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Lyla is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Lyla
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lyla also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lyla over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Lyla
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Lyla in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Layla
Sibling names for Lyla
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lyla — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lyla
What does the name Lyla mean?
There is no agreed meaning. Through Layla it means "night"; other sources give lilac, play, or light of the moon.
Is Lyla the same as Layla?
Lyla is commonly a respelling of the Arabic Layla, though it also overlaps with Lila and Lilah.
Why do sources disagree about Lyla?
Because the spelling sits between several older names, and no record establishes which one it descends from.
How popular is the name Lyla?
In 2025, Lyla was given to 3,089 babies in the United States, ranking #80 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Lyla a girl's or a boy's name?
Lyla is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Lyla most popular?
Lyla peaked in 2025, when 3,089 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Lyla?
Lyla is usually shortened to Ly.
Is Lyla a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lyla currently ranks #61 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.