Laia
Feminine · “well-spoken”
Laia is the Catalan short form of Eulàlia — well-spoken, in Greek — and she is the patron saint of Barcelona.
How old is the name Laia?
Laia first appears in US birth records in 1980 — 45 years ago. The typical Laia is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Laia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Laia most popular?
Laia peaked in 2022, reaching #1621 nationally. Today it ranks #2173, 552 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From eu lalein to Laia
The story of Laia
Eulàlia of Barcelona was, tradition says, a girl of thirteen martyred under Diocletian, and the cathedral of Barcelona is dedicated to her; thirteen geese are kept in its cloister, one for each year of her life. Laia is the everyday Catalan form and is among the most-used girls' names in Catalonia. It is in current American use.
Meaning
well-spoken, sweetly speaking
Through Eulàlia, from the Greek eu, 'well', and lalein, 'to speak'. The same lalein gives the English 'glossolalia'. Laia is the standard Catalan short form. The Greek elements are ordinary and the compound transparent.
How the name formed
- eu lalein
- Eulalia
- Laia
Related forms: Laia · Eulalia · Eulalie
Pronouncing Laia
LY-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Catalan says it the same way.
Nicknames for Laia
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
- 1980
- Most girls named
- 2022130 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1621reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −9.6%85 in 2025, from 94
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.
Laia in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Laia in Catalan — same name
- Eulalia in Spanish — related form
- Eulalie in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Texas.
Laias among us
people named Laia are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 18,909 born in 2025 was named Laia
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Laia
- #2173
- Laia on the 2025 chart
- #670
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Laia went to 85 girls in 2025, but Laya, Layah and Laiya and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 6 spellings went to 301, which makes it the 670th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,503 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 5,340 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 18,909 for Laia 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 Deondra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Laia's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Deondra climbed just as high around 1985, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Deondra's path sketches the road Laia is walking now.
Laia 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Laia is headed
Laia 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.
Laia beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Laia in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The well-spoken meaning is transparent and unusually pleasant.
- That thirteen geese are kept in the cathedral cloister for her is a first-rate detail.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk once heard.
- English speakers may say LAY-uh instead.
- It reads as specifically Catalan.
- Laia and Leia are close enough to confuse.
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What they receive
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Laia
Feminine · #2173 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Laias are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Laia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Laia?
- Laia is one of 6 recorded spellings. Laya is the more common one — 137 births in 2025 against 85 for Laia.
- How popular is the name Laia in 2025?
- Laia ranks #2173 among US girl names in 2025, with 85 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Laia?
- About 1 in every 18,909 US girls born in 2025 was named Laia — 85 in all.
- Will my child share the name Laia with classmates?
- Laia will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Laia
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jocelynn#2173 · Kynslee#2173 · Rosaline#2173 · Zadie#2173 · Dawn#2173 · Hiba#2173 · Kayce#2173 · Karlie#2173
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Laia? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Laia and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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