| Aisha | Leila | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1977 (1,540) | 2010 (1,509) |
| In 2025 | 910 | 1,193 |
| Trend | Rising | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aisha | Leila |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 4,482 | 7,702 |
| 2010s | 5,421 | 13,914 |
| 2000s | 3,930 | 9,904 |
| 1990s | 4,001 | 2,177 |
| 1980s | 4,260 | 2,106 |
| 1970s | 4,643 | 1,624 |
| 1960s | 163 | 1,578 |
| 1950s | 33 | 1,740 |
| 1940s | 0 | 1,852 |
| 1930s | 0 | 2,473 |
| 1920s | 0 | 3,340 |
| 1910s | 0 | 2,830 |
| 1900s | 0 | 1,529 |
| 1890s | 0 | 1,588 |
| 1880s | 0 | 1,079 |
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.
Variant spelling of Layla, from Arabic 'layl' meaning 'night'. The 'Leila' form was popularized in English via 19th-century Western literature.
Leila is more popular than Aisha today: about 1,193 US babies were given the name Leila in 2025, compared with 910 named Aisha.
Aisha means Living, alive; prospering (arabic origin), while Leila means night (arabic origin).
In US records, Aisha first appears in 1950 and Leila in 1880, so Leila has the longer recorded history.