Given name
Lejla
“night”
Lejla is a variant of Leila. One Arabic interpretation is “night.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lejla is a variant of Leila. One Arabic interpretation is “night.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Lejla is a variant of Leila. An origin associated with Leila is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Lejla developed from لَيْلَى.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1995. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Lejla is a variant of Leila. The history of Leila gives this family its wider story. Byron used Leila in The Giaour and Don Juan, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton used it for the heroine of his novel Leila. These works helped make the Arabic name familiar to English-speaking readers.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lejla through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 878
- 0 boys · 878 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 47 babies
- 2025
- 24
- #5,328 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 24 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,328 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 22.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 47 in 2007. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,319 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lejla’s family of names
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Lejla developed from the Arabic form لَيْلَى. In Hungarian usage, Lejla has a related form in Leila. In Hungarian usage, Lejla has a related form in Leila.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lejla
- Lejla AgolliAlbanian composerborn 1950
- Lejla NjemčevićBosnian cyclistborn 1994
- Lejla Kalamujićwriter from Bosnia and Herzegovinaborn 1980
- Lejla AbbasováCzech actressborn 1980
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lejla, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Alessa
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Haydi
“a modest woman; one who is well-behaved” · “a capable woman”
>99% girls
Kylie
“from the narrow channel”
>99% girls
Aleeshia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Indya
“from the river; woman from India”
>99% girls
Keilah
“a lively and bright-headed woman”
>99% girls
Leniya
>99% girls
Laila
“a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
>99% girls