Where does the name Lila come from?

Lila is a girl name of Arabic origin.

Is Lila a boy or a girl name?

Lila is overwhelmingly a girl name in the United States. Of the 73,341 U.S. babies recorded with this name, more than 99% are girls.

How popular is the name Lila in 2023?

Lila ranks #213 for girls in the U.S. Social Security Administration's 2023 dataset. Its all-time U.S. peak was 2010 with 1,969 babies.

How do you pronounce Lila?

Lila is pronounced LIE-lah (2 syllables).

What are common spellings of Lila?

Lila is also written as Layla, Leila, Lilah.

A name from Arabic · Girl

Lila

A variant of Layla, from Arabic ليلى, "night." In Sanskrit-derived traditions, the same form lila means "divine play" — a coincidence of sound across two unrelated languages.

Compare

Popularity over time

A 143-year arc in numbers.

73,341 U.S. births recorded from 1880–2023.

Popularity · 1880–2023

1,401 births in 2023

1880 1951 2023

Babies named per year Peak year Most recent

Meaning

A name that means something.

LA variant of Layla, from Arabic ليلى, "night." In Sanskrit-derived traditions, the same form lila means "divine play" — a coincidence of sound across two unrelated languages.

Variants & spellings

3 ways to spell "Lila".

Each transliteration carries a slightly different cultural fingerprint.

Layla Most common Leila Lilah

Quick answers

People often ask about Lila.

What does the name Lila mean?: Lila means a variant of Layla, from Arabic ليلى, "night." In Sanskrit-derived traditions, the same form lila means "divine play" — a coincidence of sound across two unrelated languages.
Where does the name Lila come from?: Lila is a girl name of Arabic origin.
Is Lila a boy or a girl name?: Lila is overwhelmingly a girl name in the United States. Of the 73,341 U.S. babies recorded with this name, more than 99% are girls.
How popular is the name Lila in 2023?: Lila ranks #213 for girls in the U.S. Social Security Administration's 2023 dataset. Its all-time U.S. peak was 2010 with 1,969 babies.
How do you pronounce Lila?: Lila is pronounced LIE-lah (2 syllables).
What are common spellings of Lila?: Lila is also written as Layla, Leila, Lilah.

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About this page

Popularity counts come from the U.S. Social Security Administration's national dataset. Meanings and origins are curated from etymological sources. If you spot an error, please let us know.