Laila
Girl name · 432 babies recorded · 1974–2025
Laila: 432 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 47 births in 2011.
Most commonly a variant of Leila, Laila has Arabic origins meaning "night" or "dark beauty," and it also appears in Scandinavian traditions as a short form of names like Helena. The name gained international fame through the tragic heroine of the 1969 musical *Hair* and the classic Persian tale of Layla and Majnun, later immortalised by Eric Clapton’s 1970 song "Layla." In Scotland, Laila has been a steady presence on the baby name charts since the 1980s, with notable bearers including Olympic sprinter Laila Lequier. The variant Leila is more common in many English-speaking countries, while the spelling Laila often reflects Scandinavian or Muslim heritage.
Girl 27 of 52 years
- Peak year
- 201147 babies
- Latest (2025)
- #30111 babies
- Total births
- 432since 1984
- 5-year trend
- ▼ 40%vs prior 5y