Keila
Feminine
Keila is a place in the book of Joshua — a fortified town of Judah that David defended against the Philistines — and it is now an ordinary Spanish-American girls' name.
How old is the name Keila?
Keila first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Keila alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 7,300 people named Keila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Keila most popular?
Keila peaked in 2001, reaching #989 nationally. Today it ranks #1548, 559 places below that high. See the whole 2001 chart.
Keila appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Keilah to Keila
The story of Keila
David rescued Keilah from a Philistine raid in 1 Samuel 23 and then had to flee it when he learned its people would hand him over — one of the sharper small episodes in the book. The name is used across Latin America and in Jewish communities, and Spanish-speaking families brought Keila to the United States, where it is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
From the Hebrew Keilah, a town in Judah named in Joshua and in 1 Samuel; the place name's own meaning is unrecovered, though 'fortress' and 'citadel' are sometimes offered. A second route treats Keila as a Spanish respelling of Kayla or a Yiddish form of Kelila, 'crown'.
How the name formed
- Keilah
- Keila
Related forms: Keila · Keilah · Kayla
Pronouncing Keila
KAY-lah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish says it the same way; some bearers use KEE-lah.
Nicknames for Keila
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1956
- Most girls named
- 2008238 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #989reached in 2001
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%136 in 2025, from 136
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Keila in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Keila in Spanish — same name
- Keilah in Hebrew — related form
- Kayla in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Keilas among us
people named Keila are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 11,818 born in 2025 was named Keila
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Keila
- #1548
- Keila on the 2025 chart
- #518
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Keila went to 136 girls in 2025, but Keyla and Keilah are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 498, which makes it the 518th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,030 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 3,227 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 11,818 for Keila itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Melodee test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Keila's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Melodee climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Melodee's path sketches the road Keila is walking now.
Keila is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Keila is headed
Keila should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Keila beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Keila in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A real biblical place with a genuinely sharp story attached stands behind it.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It is standard in Spanish without any change of spelling.
- The place name's own meaning is unrecovered.
- Kayla and Kaila are close enough to cause constant confusion.
- The first vowel splits between two readings.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Keila to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Keila? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Keila
Feminine · #1548 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Keilas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,300 people named Keila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Keila?
- Keila is one of 3 recorded spellings. Keyla is the more common one — 331 births in 2025 against 136 for Keila.
- How popular is the name Keila in 2025?
- Keila ranks #1548 among US girl names in 2025, with 136 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Keila?
- About 1 in every 11,818 US girls born in 2025 was named Keila — 136 in all.
- Will my child share the name Keila with classmates?
- Keila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Keila
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Skylynn#1548 · Marcela#1548 · Addilynn#1548 · Mavie#1548 · Maelani#1548 · Raine#1548 · Theresa#1548 · Avalyn#1548
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Keila? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Keila and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle