Lela

“Variant of Leila — Night” — Arabic (variant of Leila) origin

Girl's name · #2374 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Lela belongs to an older America first — it reached #113 back in 1894 — yet it still appears in today's records at #2374. About 43,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Together with its spelling variant Leela (#1282), Lela would rank around #1003 with about 250 births last year — the newborns split about 70/30 between Leela and Lela.

Around the world: about 1 in 18,000 girls in Austria (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 8 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Lelas

Lela Rochon — American actress and film producer (born 1964)
Lela Javakhishvili — Georgian chess player
Lela Tsurtsumia — Georgian singer
Lela Karagianni — Greek resistance leader
Lela Loren — American actress

In stories & tradition

Lela — Teen Beach Movie · Teen Beach 2

What Lelas become

Among 96 notable people named Lela:

Entertainers appear 1.88× more often than among typical names — e.g. Lela Rochon, American actress and film producer (born 1964).

Similar names: Leyla · Zaida · Lenna · Nella · Roxy · Hala

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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