Head to head · Girls' names
Kamila vs Kayla
#355 vs #364 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Kamila is a whisker ahead (#355 vs #364 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, Kayla leads 3 measures of 6; Kamila 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
- 1930s: Kamila —, Kayla #3524 — Kayla higher
- 1940s: Kamila —, Kayla #2492 — Kayla higher
- 1950s: Kamila —, Kayla #1244 — Kayla higher
- 1960s: Kamila #6403, Kayla #853 — Kayla higher
- 1970s: Kamila #5232, Kayla #760 — Kayla higher
- 1980s: Kamila #4988, Kayla #172 — Kayla higher
- 1990s: Kamila #3356, Kayla #13 — Kayla higher
- 2000s: Kamila #1240, Kayla #22 — Kayla higher
- 2010s: Kamila #346, Kayla #109 — Kayla higher
- 2020s: Kamila #260, Kayla #295 — Kamila higher
Kayla stood higher in 9 of 10 decades; Kamila took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kamila | Kayla |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | — | #3524 |
| 1940s | — | #2492 |
| 1950s | — | #1244 |
| 1960s | #6403 | #853 |
| 1970s | #5232 | #760 |
| 1980s | #4988 | #172 |
| 1990s | #3356 | #13 |
| 2000s | #1240 | #22 |
| 2010s | #346 | #109 |
| 2020s | #260 | #295 |
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
Kamila
Arabic: "complete, perfect"; Latin Camilla: origin uncertain
Two separate names meet at this spelling. The Arabic Kāmila comes from the root k-m-l, "completeness, perfection", and is the feminine of Kāmil. The Slavic Kamila comes from the Roman family name Camillus, whose own origin is not settled — it is often traced to Etruscan, and in Roman religious practice a camillus was a young attendant at sacrifices. Which meaning applies depends on which road a particular family came by, and both are entirely real.
Camillus → Camilla → Kamila
How it traveled
The Latin line begins with the Roman cognomen Camillus and its feminine Camilla, given lasting fame by Virgil in the Aeneid, where Camilla is the swift-footed warrior of the Volsci. From Latin the name spread through Italy and then north and east, settling into Czech, Polish and Slovak as Kamila, where it has been a standard given name for generations.
Kayla
not settled; linked to Kyle and to a Yiddish Kayla
Kayla has two serious roots. One is Kyle, from Scottish Gaelic caol, narrow or slender, with a feminine ending. The other is an older Yiddish woman's name, Kayla or Keyle. Many American families also heard it simply as Kay with -la added. None of these has been shown to be the source.
Kyle / Kayla (Yiddish) / Kay → Kayla
How it traveled
Kayla came into American use from several directions at once, and no single story explains why so many families chose it. Once it was familiar it grew a family of spellings of its own.
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
Kamila
kah-MEE-lah
This is the usual American reading. Polish and Czech speakers stress it differently — Czech puts the weight on the first syllable, KA-mi-la — so relatives abroad may say it their own way. Either is correct for the name.
- Kami — The most common informal short form in English-speaking use; also used on its own.
- Mila — Taken from the middle of the name; stands alone as an independent given name too, so it is a short form that can carry a whole life.
- Kam — Clipped and informal, mostly among friends and teammates.
- Kamcia — Standard Polish affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than formally.
- Also Milka.
Kayla
KAY-luh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; the ay is the long a of day.
- Kay — The natural short form, and a name in its own right.
- Kayls — An informal short form common among friends.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kamila if you want…
- a name with more sound in itKamila runs 3 syllables, Kayla 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Kami, Mila and Kam
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 83% for Kayla
Choose Kayla if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesKayla is 2 syllables to Kamila's 3
- a name that feels very nowKayla is stepping back from its peak
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
Kamila
Strengths
- Two ready-made short forms in real use, Kami and Mila, and Mila also works as a full name in its own right.
- Sits inside the well-known Camila/Camilla family, so the sound is familiar to most Americans even when the spelling is new to them.
- A documented line running back to Roman naming and Virgil's Aeneid, plus centuries of steady use in Polish and Czech.
To consider
- The K will need saying out loud for life. Camila and Camilla are both far better established in the United States, so expect forms to come back spelled with a C and a polite correction to follow.
- Its American wave is recent, so the name currently reads as belonging to children rather than adults — a fine thing, but worth knowing if you were hoping for something age-neutral.
- Because two unrelated names share this spelling, people will sometimes assume a heritage you may not have. That is easy to answer, and the double origin is one of the more interesting things about the name.
Kayla
Strengths
- It is easy to say and spell, and nearly everyone knows it.
- It sounds warm and friendly.
- It works in many languages without changing.
To consider
- It is closely tied to one generation, so a Kayla will often share her name with classmates and co-workers of her age.
- There is no settled meaning to give when someone asks; the honest answer is that it has several possible roots.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name everywhere.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Kamila
40%chance Kamila feels dated by 2040
Kamila 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.
Kayla
83%chance Kayla feels dated by 2040
Kayla is coming down from a big peak (#11 in 1995). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Kamila and Kayla 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 Kamila and Kayla?
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 Kamila and Kayla — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kamila or Kayla — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kamila or Kayla?
- Kamila, in 2025: Kamila ranked #355 with 851 babies; Kayla ranked #364 with 838 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kamila or Kayla?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Kamila moved down 141 places; Kayla moved down 149 places.
- Which is the older name, Kamila or Kayla?
- Kamila entered the US charts in 1963; Kayla entered the US charts in 1933. On the American record, Kayla is the older name.
- How many people are named Kamila and Kayla?
- About 20,000 people named Kamila are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 341,000 people named Kayla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kamilas or Kaylas in the classroom?
- Kamila will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kayla 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Kamila, Kayla and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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