| Aisha | Layla | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Living, alive; prospering | night |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AA-ee-shah / AY-shah | LAY-lah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1950 | 1950 |
| Peak year | 1977 (1,540) | 2019 (6,523) |
| In 2025 | 910 | 5,338 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aisha | Layla |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 4,482 | 35,046 |
| 2010s | 5,421 | 63,242 |
| 2000s | 3,930 | 26,209 |
| 1990s | 4,001 | 2,189 |
| 1980s | 4,260 | 1,052 |
| 1970s | 4,643 | 1,355 |
| 1960s | 163 | 24 |
| 1950s | 33 | 19 |
Aisha (عائشة, 'A'isha) derives from the Arabic root '-y-sh ('to live'), giving the sense 'living, alive, thriving'. It is historically significant as the name of 'A'isha bint Abi Bakr, a wife of the Prophet Muhammad. Common transliteration variants include Aysha, Ayesha and Ayisha.
From Arabic 'layl' meaning 'night'. Famous from the classical Arabic/Persian love story of Layla and Majnun.
Layla is more popular than Aisha today: about 5,338 US babies were given the name Layla in 2025, compared with 910 named Aisha.
Aisha means Living, alive; prospering (arabic origin), while Layla means night (arabic origin).
In US records, Aisha first appears in 1950 and Layla in 1950, so Aisha has the longer recorded history.