| Amira | Layla | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | princess | night |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ah-MEER-ah | LAY-lah |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1963 | 1950 |
| Peak year | 2024 (2,182) | 2019 (6,523) |
| In 2025 | 2,168 | 5,338 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amira | Layla |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,336 | 35,046 |
| 2010s | 8,199 | 63,242 |
| 2000s | 4,635 | 26,209 |
| 1990s | 1,563 | 2,189 |
| 1980s | 595 | 1,052 |
| 1970s | 257 | 1,355 |
| 1960s | 24 | 24 |
| 1950s | 0 | 19 |
Arabic 'amira', the feminine of 'amir' ('prince, commander, ruler'), meaning 'princess'. Royal but not literally 'queen' — the root a-m-r concerns command/rule. (A separate Hebrew name Amira means 'speech/treetop'.)
From Arabic 'layl' meaning 'night'. Famous from the classical Arabic/Persian love story of Layla and Majnun.
Layla is more popular than Amira today: about 5,338 US babies were given the name Layla in 2025, compared with 2,168 named Amira.
Amira means princess (arabic origin), while Layla means night (arabic origin).
In US records, Amira first appears in 1963 and Layla in 1950, so Layla has the longer recorded history.