Given name & surname

Leya

“one who upholds the law”

Leya is used as a given name and a surname. One Spanish interpretation is “one who upholds the law.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Spanish interpretation is “one who upholds the law.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.

How it developed

From Turkish Leya, from Arabic لَيْيَا.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1968. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Leya through the years

Babies since 1880
1,705
0 boys · 1,705 girls
Most popular year
2025
86 babies
2025
86
#2,166 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+26%
Rising
0204060198020002025Highest share 202554
Leya in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1968–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inMichigan, Pennsylvania, Florida
FewerMore, relative to births Not published
2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Michigan (11), Pennsylvania (6), Florida (8), New York (7), California (12).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 86 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,166 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (12). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,385 as a first name in 2020; 130 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Leya’s family of names

In Walloon usage, Leya shares a linguistic root with the French form Léa. Leya has a related form in Leyah. In Walloon usage, Leya has a related form in Lèya.

Walk Leya’s family in the name graph

LeyaLeyahLeyyaLèyaLeahLeaLeiaLiyaLayaLyaLejaLéa

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 3

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 8

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

People named Leya

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Leya, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Spanish · Modern

Layana

Layana is a feminine given name from Spanish. It is used in French.

34RareRising fast

>99% girls

Spanish · Modern

Lira

Lira is a surname from Spanish. It is used in English and Spanish.

26RareRising

>99% girls

Basque · Modern

Zelaya

“field”

22RareRising fast

>99% girls

Spanish · Modern

Cataleya

Cataleya is a feminine given name. It is used in Spanish.

68FamiliarRising fast

>99% girls

Spanish · Modern

Roa

Roa is a feminine given name from Spanish. It is used in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Cebuano, and 2 other languages.

20RareRising fast

14% boys · 86% girls

Spanish · Modern

Leiba

Leiba is a surname, probably from Spanish. It is used in English and Spanish.

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Italian · Modern

Alessia

Alessia is used as a given name. Alessia is connected with Alexia.

65FamiliarRising fast

>99% girls

Italian · Modern

Sienna

“woman with reddish-brown hair”

76CommonRising

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Leya’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Leya

A sister for Leya