| Jana | Leila | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Harvest; gathered fruits | night |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | JA-nah | LAY-lah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1961 (1,456) | 2010 (1,509) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 1,193 |
| Trend | Vintage | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Jana | Leila |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,228 | 7,702 |
| 2010s | 2,531 | 13,914 |
| 2000s | 2,395 | 9,904 |
| 1990s | 2,952 | 2,177 |
| 1980s | 7,267 | 2,106 |
| 1970s | 9,168 | 1,624 |
| 1960s | 11,612 | 1,578 |
| 1950s | 7,084 | 1,740 |
| 1940s | 1,661 | 1,852 |
| 1930s | 223 | 2,473 |
| 1920s | 64 | 3,340 |
| 1910s | 0 | 2,830 |
| 1900s | 0 | 1,529 |
| 1890s | 0 | 1,588 |
| 1880s | 0 | 1,079 |
As an Arabic name Jana (جنى, jana) means 'harvest' or 'the fruits one gathers', from the root j-n-y, and is associated by sound with janna ('garden, paradise'). Disambiguation: Jana is also a Slavic and Central-European feminine form of John/Jane, which is a wholly separate origin.
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 Jana today: about 1,193 US babies were given the name Leila in 2025, compared with 0 named Jana.
Jana means Harvest; gathered fruits (arabic origin), while Leila means night (arabic origin).
In US records, Jana first appears in 0 and Leila in 1880, so Jana has the longer recorded history.