Layla
[ˈleɪlə]Meaning
Arabic word for "night"
Background Story
Layla is used in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian, French, Georgian, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Turkmen and Urdu, with variants that include Laila, Leila, Leyla and Lyla. In an old Arab tale it is the name of the love interest of the poet Qays, called Majnun, a story retold by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in his poem Layla and Majnun. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song Layla by Derek and the Dominos, whose title was inspired by that medieval story.
Temperament
Variations
Leila, Laila, Lejla
Related Names
Laila
From the Arabic word layl, meaning "night" or "dark"
Leila
Variant of Layla, from Arabic laylā
Linda
Medieval short form of Germanic names with the element lind, "soft, tender"; also the Spanish and Portuguese word for "beautiful"
Aicha
Recorded as a feminine given name in Maghrebi Arabic
Amina
From Arabic, "safe, secure"; related to a root meaning "to be faithful"
Amira
Princess or leader in Arabic
Anaya
Meaning unknown; possibly from the Spanish surname Anaya
Aysha
Alternate transcription of Arabic عائشة, Urdu عائشہ or Kazakh Айша
Caris
Variant of Carys, a Welsh name
Dorra
Recorded as a feminine given name in Maghrebi Arabic