Head to head · Girls' names
Estrella vs Leyla
#612 vs #611 in 2025 · Latin vs Arabic roots
Leyla is a whisker ahead (#611 vs #612 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leyla is holding its place on the charts, Estrella is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Estrella has the edge.
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, Estrella leads 4 measures of 6; Leyla leads 2.
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
- 1910s: Estrella #3681, Leyla — — Estrella higher
- 1920s: Estrella #4195, Leyla — — Estrella higher
- 1930s: Estrella #3681, Leyla — — Estrella higher
- 1940s: Estrella #4183, Leyla — — Estrella higher
- 1950s: Estrella #3605, Leyla #4879 — Estrella higher
- 1960s: Estrella #3895, Leyla #5223 — Estrella higher
- 1970s: Estrella #2713, Leyla #2675 — Leyla higher
- 1980s: Estrella #1655, Leyla #3599 — Estrella higher
- 1990s: Estrella #1144, Leyla #2841 — Estrella higher
- 2000s: Estrella #506, Leyla #1107 — Estrella higher
- 2010s: Estrella #712, Leyla #699 — Leyla higher
- 2020s: Estrella #676, Leyla #611 — Leyla higher
Estrella stood higher in 9 of 12 decades; Leyla has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Estrella | Leyla |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3681 | — |
| 1920s | #4195 | — |
| 1930s | #3681 | — |
| 1940s | #4183 | — |
| 1950s | #3605 | #4879 |
| 1960s | #3895 | #5223 |
| 1970s | #2713 | #2675 |
| 1980s | #1655 | #3599 |
| 1990s | #1144 | #2841 |
| 2000s | #506 | #1107 |
| 2010s | #712 | #699 |
| 2020s | #676 | #611 |
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
Estrella
Star
From Spanish estrella, descended from Latin stella.
stella (Latin) → Stella Maris → estrella (Spanish) → Estrella
How it traveled
The root is Latin stella, which passed into Spanish as estrella and into French as estoile, later étoile. As a personal name it grew out of Catholic Marian devotion: Mary is addressed as Stella Maris, star of the sea, in the medieval Latin hymn Ave Maris Stella, and Spanish churches honored her under titles such as Nuestra Señora de la Estrella.
Leyla
Night
From Arabic layl, "night"; the same root gives Hebrew laylah.
layl (Arabic, "night") → Laylā → Leylâ (Turkish) → Leyla
How it traveled
" Nizami Ganjavi turned that story into a Persian romance in the twelfth century, and from there it traveled through Ottoman, Azerbaijani, Urdu and Central Asian literature, picking up local spellings on the way. Leyla is the form that settled in Turkish and Azerbaijani, where it has been an ordinary given name for generations.
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
Estrella
es-TREH-yah
That is the Spanish pronunciation, with the double L sounded as a Y across most of the Spanish-speaking world. English speakers commonly say ess-TREL-uh instead. Both are in real use in the US, and many families answer to whichever the speaker offers.
- Estrellita — The standard Spanish diminutive, used affectionately within families rather than as a legal name.
- Stella — Used as an English-facing short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Ella — Informal, drawn from the end of the name; also stands alone as a given name in English.
- Estre — A clipped, informal form heard among friends and classmates.
- Also Essy.
Leyla
LAY-lah
In Turkish it is closer to ley-LAH, with the stress later and a small glide in the first syllable. Expect some people to try LEE-lah first, since Leila is usually said that way; one correction generally fixes it.
- Ley — The most common informal clip in English-speaking families; rarely written down.
- Lely — An affectionate diminutive used within families rather than at school.
- Lulu — A household nickname that attaches to several L-names, not to Leyla alone.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Estrella if you want…
- a name on the way upup 127 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEstrella runs 3 syllables, Leyla 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Estrellita, Stella and Ella
Choose Leyla if you want…
- a name holding steadyLeyla is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesLeyla is 2 syllables to Estrella's 3
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
Estrella
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent to any Spanish speaker — no explanation needed, in a language spoken by tens of millions in the US.
- It connects to a whole family of familiar names — Stella, Estelle, Estella — so short forms and English-facing alternatives already exist.
- The spelling follows Spanish rules exactly, so it is written correctly on the first try by anyone who reads Spanish.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate: the Spanish es-TREH-yah and the anglicized ess-TREL-uh. Your daughter will hear both, and will likely spend her life deciding, case by case, whether to correct people or let it go.
- English speakers who do not know the name may reach for Estella, Estela or Estrela when writing it down. The correction is small but frequent.
- In Spanish it is not only a name but an ordinary word for star, the way Star is in English. Within Spanish-speaking families this is entirely normal; outside them it can register as a word name.
Leyla
Strengths
- Two syllables, all soft sounds, and no silent letters — easy to say on first sight for most English speakers.
- Travels intact across Turkish, Azerbaijani, Arabic and Persian usage, so relatives in several traditions will recognize it immediately.
- A documented literary history over a thousand years old, and continuous everyday use in Turkey and Azerbaijan.
To consider
- Layla, Leila and Laila all sound close to identical, so this spelling will be asked for and corrected fairly often. Writing it out once, cheerfully, becomes a lifelong habit.
- Eric Clapton's "Layla" is still played widely, and some people will make that connection out loud, usually by singing at her.
- The Turkish pronunciation and the American one differ slightly in stress. Families who use both will simply hear two versions of the same name, which is common enough for names that cross languages.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Estrella and Leyla 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 Estrella and Leyla?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Estrella and Leyla — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Estrella or Leyla — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Estrella or Leyla?
- Leyla, in 2025: Leyla ranked #611 with 478 babies; Estrella ranked #612 with 477 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Estrella or Leyla?
- Estrella. Over the last five years Estrella moved up 127 places; Leyla moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Estrella or Leyla?
- Estrella entered the US charts in 1914; Leyla entered the US charts in 1957. On the American record, Estrella is the older name.
- How many people are named Estrella and Leyla?
- About 16,500 people named Estrella are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,500 people named Leyla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Estrellas or Leylas in the classroom?
- Estrella will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leyla 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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