Leilana
Feminine · “night”
Leilana lengthens Leila, the Arabic word for night — and the woman it belongs to is the most famous beloved in Middle Eastern literature.
How old is the name Leilana?
Leilana first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Leilana is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Leilana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leilana most popular?
Leilana peaked in 2020, reaching #3498 nationally. Today it ranks #4661, 1,163 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Leilana
Ours, offered as ours. Layla and Majnun is the story of a poet who loves a woman he cannot marry and goes mad in the desert composing verse about her — majnun means possessed. Nizami's twelfth-century Persian version made it the standard tragic romance of the Islamic world, and it has been retold in a dozen languages for eight hundred years. Her name is simply the word for night.
Meaning
night
From Arabic layla, night; the word is ordinary vocabulary and the name is old. The -ana ending is a modern Latinate addition. Hawaiian lei and lana are separately real words and may be intended by some families.
Pronouncing Leilana
lay-LAH-nah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some families say lee-LAH-nah.
Nicknames for Leilana
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
- 1989
- Most girls named
- 202043 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3498reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- +7.4%29 in 2025, from 27
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.
Leilana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Layla in Arabic — related form
- Leila in English — related form
- Leyli in Persian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Leilanas among us
people named Leilana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 55,423 born in 2025 was named Leilana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mycah test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leilana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mycah climbed just as high around 1998, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mycah's path sketches the road Leilana is walking now.
Leilana 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 Leilana is headed
Leilana 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.
Leilana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leilana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with one of the great love stories behind it.
- Leila and Lana are both complete names sitting inside it.
- Every vowel is sounded, so it reads correctly in most languages.
- The first vowel is unsettled between LAY and LEE.
- Leilana, Leilani and Leila are all close and get confused.
- The -ana ending is a modern addition with no meaning of its own.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Leilana
Feminine · #4661 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leilanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Leilana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leilana in 2025?
- Leilana ranks #4661 among US girl names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leilana?
- About 1 in every 55,423 US girls born in 2025 was named Leilana — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leilana with classmates?
- Leilana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leilana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ellenor#4661 · Roselie#4661 · Marni#4661 · Menucha#4661 · Infinity#4661 · Lilya#4661 · Railyn#4661 · Zada#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leilana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leilana and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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