Head to head · Girls' names
Leila vs Mariana
#259 vs #260 in 2025
Leila is a whisker ahead (#259 vs #260 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leila is stepping back from its peak, Mariana is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Mariana 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, Leila leads 4 measures of 6; Mariana 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
- 1880s: Leila #177, Mariana #1278 — Leila higher
- 1890s: Leila #210, Mariana #1406 — Leila higher
- 1900s: Leila #263, Mariana #1366 — Leila higher
- 1910s: Leila #321, Mariana #1272 — Leila higher
- 1920s: Leila #369, Mariana #1224 — Leila higher
- 1930s: Leila #422, Mariana #1319 — Leila higher
- 1940s: Leila #564, Mariana #1554 — Leila higher
- 1950s: Leila #710, Mariana #1872 — Leila higher
- 1960s: Leila #828, Mariana #1645 — Leila higher
- 1970s: Leila #853, Mariana #1172 — Leila higher
- 1980s: Leila #800, Mariana #766 — Mariana higher
- 1990s: Leila #917, Mariana #439 — Mariana higher
- 2000s: Leila #355, Mariana #222 — Mariana higher
- 2010s: Leila #229, Mariana #299 — Leila higher
- 2020s: Leila #238, Mariana #252 — Leila higher
Leila stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Leila has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leila | Mariana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #177 | #1278 |
| 1890s | #210 | #1406 |
| 1900s | #263 | #1366 |
| 1910s | #321 | #1272 |
| 1920s | #369 | #1224 |
| 1930s | #422 | #1319 |
| 1940s | #564 | #1554 |
| 1950s | #710 | #1872 |
| 1960s | #828 | #1645 |
| 1970s | #853 | #1172 |
| 1980s | #800 | #766 |
| 1990s | #917 | #439 |
| 2000s | #355 | #222 |
| 2010s | #229 | #299 |
| 2020s | #238 | #252 |
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
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.
Mariana
From Latin Marianus, 'of Marius'; also read as a blend of Maria and Ana
The older line is clear: Mariana is the feminine of the Roman name Marianus, formed from the family name Marius — whose own root is not established, though it has long been linked to the god Mars. Alongside that, in Spanish and Portuguese the name has been understood for centuries as Maria and Ana joined together, and both readings are genuinely in use.
Marius → Marianus → Mariana
How it traveled
The name begins as Latin, the feminine of Marianus, a name built from the Roman family name Marius. It took deep root in Spain and Portugal, where it was also heard as Maria and Ana combined, and traveled with those languages across the Atlantic — Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, the seventeenth-century Quito ascetic later canonized, is among its best-known bearers.
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
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.
Mariana
mah-ree-AH-nah
That is the Spanish and Portuguese pronunciation, and the usual one in the US. English speakers also say mar-ee-AN-uh, with a flat middle vowel, which is how Tennyson's poem is read. Both are correct; it helps to offer one when introducing her.
- Mari — The most common short form in Spanish-speaking families; also stands alone as a given name.
- Nana — An affectionate household form taken from the second half of the name, informal only.
- Ana — Used where the name is heard as Maria plus Ana; a fully established given name in its own right.
- Marianita — Spanish diminutive, warm and family-level rather than formal.
- Also Mia.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Leila if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLeila is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesLeila is 2 syllables to Mariana's 4
- a long American recordLeila was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Mariana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 12 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMariana runs 4 syllables, Leila 2
- a newer arrivalMariana entered the US charts in 1888
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
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.
Mariana
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, so it crosses languages and borders without adjustment.
- Instantly readable to English speakers even when they haven't met it — the letters do exactly what they look like.
- Several long-established short forms, from Mari to Ana, so she can choose how formal to be.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate, the Spanish mah-ree-AH-nah and the anglicized mar-ee-AN-uh. Neither is wrong, but she may spend her life gently correcting whichever one she doesn't use.
- It sits close to Marianna, Marianne, Maryana and Mariah, and people who hear it will sometimes write one of those instead. The spelling itself is simple; the neighbors are the problem.
- The Mariana Trench and the Mariana Islands share the name, so it turns up in geography lessons — a mild, mostly harmless association, and one that at least makes it memorable.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Mariana
40%chance Mariana feels dated by 2040
Mariana 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.
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 Leila and Mariana 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 Leila and Mariana?
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
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Arabic names in American use
- Soft-sounding names built on liquid letters
- Names ending in -la
- all guides
Where Leila and Mariana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leila or Mariana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leila or Mariana?
- Leila, in 2025: Leila ranked #259 with 1,193 babies; Mariana ranked #260 with 1,192 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leila or Mariana?
- Mariana. Over the last five years Leila moved down 54 places; Mariana moved up 12 places.
- Which is the older name, Leila or Mariana?
- Leila was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mariana entered the US charts in 1888. On the American record, Leila is the older name.
- How many people are named Leila and Mariana?
- About 42,000 people named Leila are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 44,000 people named Mariana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Leilas or Marianas in the classroom?
- Leila will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mariana 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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