Given name & surname
Lyla
“night”·“born at night”·“resembling a lily”
In English use, Lyla has a related form in Leila. One Arabic interpretation is “night.” Lyla is a variant of Lila. Interpretations include “born at night” and “resembling a lily”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Lyla has a related form in Leila. One Arabic interpretation is “night.” Lyla is a variant of Lila. Interpretations include “born at night” and “resembling a lily”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Lyla has a related form in Leila. An origin associated with Leila is Arabic. Lyla is a variant of Lila. Lila has been associated with Arabic and Greek naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1884. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Lyla has a related form in 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
Lyla through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 49,299
- 5 boys · 49,294 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 3,089 babies
- 2025
- 3,089
- #80 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +20%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,089 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 80 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 20.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (311). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 29,517 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.
Lyla’s family of names
In English usage, Lyla has a related form in Leila. Lyla has a related form in Lila. In Greek usage, Lyla as a surname is a transliteration of Λύλα.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Lyla
- Lyla RoccoItalian actress (1933-2015)
- Lyla Pinch BrockCanadian egyptologist and anthropologistborn 1944
Characters named Lyla: Harbinger (DC Comics superheroine).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lyla, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lylah
“night” · “born at night”
>99% girls
Layla
“night” · “a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
>99% girls
Leyla
“night” · “a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
>99% girls
Lucy
“light”
>99% girls
Millie
“rival” · “woman of gentle strength”
>99% girls
Juliette
“one who is youthful; daughter of the sky”
>99% girls
Laila
“a beauty of the night; born at nightfall”
>99% girls
Sylvie
Sylvie is used as a given name and a surname. Sylvie is connected with Silvia.
>99% girls