Head to head · Girls' names
Adalyn vs Leila
#260 vs #259 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Leila is a whisker ahead (#259 vs #260 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Leila leads 4 measures of 6; Adalyn leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Adalyn —, Leila #177 — Leila higher
- 1890s: Adalyn —, Leila #210 — Leila higher
- 1900s: Adalyn #1862, Leila #263 — Leila higher
- 1910s: Adalyn #3255, Leila #321 — Leila higher
- 1920s: Adalyn #4112, Leila #369 — Leila higher
- 1930s: Adalyn #4286, Leila #422 — Leila higher
- 1940s: Adalyn —, Leila #564 — Leila higher
- 1950s: Adalyn —, Leila #710 — Leila higher
- 1960s: Adalyn —, Leila #828 — Leila higher
- 1970s: Adalyn —, Leila #853 — Leila higher
- 1980s: Adalyn #9244, Leila #800 — Leila higher
- 1990s: Adalyn #8485, Leila #917 — Leila higher
- 2000s: Adalyn #1984, Leila #355 — Leila higher
- 2010s: Adalyn #171, Leila #229 — Adalyn higher
- 2020s: Adalyn #190, Leila #238 — Adalyn higher
Leila stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Adalyn has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adalyn | Leila |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #177 |
| 1890s | — | #210 |
| 1900s | #1862 | #263 |
| 1910s | #3255 | #321 |
| 1920s | #4112 | #369 |
| 1930s | #4286 | #422 |
| 1940s | — | #564 |
| 1950s | — | #710 |
| 1960s | — | #828 |
| 1970s | — | #853 |
| 1980s | #9244 | #800 |
| 1990s | #8485 | #917 |
| 2000s | #1984 | #355 |
| 2010s | #171 | #229 |
| 2020s | #190 | #238 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Adalyn
Noble
The root is the Germanic element adal, "noble," which produced Adela and Adèle; Adeline is the French diminutive of those, and Adalyn is a modern English respelling of Adeline. The -lyn ending is a spelling choice, not a separate meaning.
Adal (Germanic element) → Adela → Adèle → Adeline → Adalyn
How it traveled
The element adal ran through Frankish and Germanic names for centuries, standing for noble birth, and gave rise to Adala and Adela among the aristocracy of early medieval Europe. French speakers shortened Adela to Adèle and built the affectionate diminutive Adeline from it; the Normans carried that form into England, where it kept a quiet, steady presence.
Leila
night
From Arabic layl, "night", through the feminine form Laylā. The same Semitic root gives Hebrew laylah, also "night", so the meaning holds across both traditions.
Laylā → Leïla → Leila
How it traveled
The name begins in Arabic as Laylā and became famous through the story of Layla and Majnun — the poet driven mad by love, a tale told in Arabic verse and reshaped into a Persian narrative poem by Nizami Ganjavi in the twelfth century. From there it spread wherever that story was read: Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and the wider Islamic world.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Adalyn
AD-uh-lin
Stress on the first syllable. The final syllable is usually said lightly, like "lin"; some families give it a fuller "lyn" to match the spelling, and both are accepted.
- Addie — The default short form across the whole Ade-/Ada- family; also given on its own to some children.
- Ada — A complete given name in its own right, with a long independent record, used informally here.
- Addy — Same nickname, alternate spelling; common in writing among younger families.
- Lyn — Drawn from the ending rather than the beginning; less common, and also a standalone name.
Leila
LAY-la (also LEE-la)
Both are in genuine use in the US, and neither is a mistake. LAY-la is closer to the Arabic and Turkish original; LEE-la follows the older English reading of the -ei- spelling. Worth deciding which one you want to correct people toward.
- Lei — Informal, family-level shortening; rarely written down.
- Lala — Affectionate, mostly used by younger siblings and grandparents.
- Lee — Informal; also a standalone given name and surname in English.
- Lulu — Playful, unrelated to the spelling; used in some families and also stands alone.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Adalyn if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAdalyn is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAdalyn runs 3 syllables, Leila 2
- a newer arrivalAdalyn entered the US charts in 1908
Choose Leila if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesLeila is 2 syllables to Adalyn's 3
- a long American recordLeila was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Adalyn
Strengths
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Addie and Ada — that have been in use for generations and need no explaining.
- Belongs to a well-known name family (Adeline, Adela, Adelaide), so the root and its meaning are easy to trace and easy to tell.
- The meaning is settled and simple: "noble," from a Germanic element documented across a thousand years of European naming.
To consider
- The spelling is the real work. Adalyn, Adalynn, Adelyn, Addilyn and Adeline all circulate at once, so she will spend a lifetime saying which one — a small, constant tax rather than a problem.
- The wave is very recent, so bearers skew strongly young. That will read as contemporary now, and will date the name in the way any cohort name does.
- She is unlikely to share her exact spelling with a classmate, but the -lyn ending is everywhere in her generation; expect Evelyns, Madelyns and Brooklyns nearby.
Leila
Strengths
- Recognized across Arabic, Persian, Turkish, French and English — it needs no translation in most of the world.
- Unbroken presence in American records from the very start of them, so it reads neither invented nor dated.
- Two syllables, all familiar sounds, easy for a small child to say and to write.
To consider
- Leila, Layla, Laila and Leyla all sound near enough alike, so she will spell it out often. Choosing this spelling means accepting a lifetime of "with an e-i".
- The two pronunciations, LAY-la and LEE-la, both have a fair claim. Teachers and receptionists will guess, and they will not always guess yours.
- Eric Clapton's 1970 song "Layla" fixed that sound in a lot of ears; expect the occasional hummed line back at you.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Adalyn
40%chance Adalyn feels dated by 2040
Adalyn sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Leila
25%chance Leila feels dated by 2040
Leila peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Adalyn and Leila in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Adalyn and Leila?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -lyn
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Arabic names in American use
- Soft-sounding names built on liquid letters
- all guides
Where Adalyn and Leila each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adalyn or Leila — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adalyn or Leila?
- Leila, in 2025: Leila ranked #259 with 1,193 babies; Adalyn ranked #260 with 1,192 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adalyn or Leila?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Adalyn moved down 119 places; Leila moved down 54 places.
- Which is the older name, Adalyn or Leila?
- Adalyn entered the US charts in 1908; Leila was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Leila is the older name.
- How many people are named Adalyn and Leila?
- About 30,500 people named Adalyn are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 42,000 people named Leila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adalyns or Leilas in the classroom?
- Adalyn will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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