| Layla | Aisha | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | night | Living, alive; prospering |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | LAY-lah | AA-ee-shah / AY-shah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1950 | 1950 |
| Peak year | 2019 (6,523) | 1977 (1,540) |
| In 2025 | 5,338 | 910 |
| Trend | Steady | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Layla | Aisha |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 35,046 | 4,482 |
| 2010s | 63,242 | 5,421 |
| 2000s | 26,209 | 3,930 |
| 1990s | 2,189 | 4,001 |
| 1980s | 1,052 | 4,260 |
| 1970s | 1,355 | 4,643 |
| 1960s | 24 | 163 |
| 1950s | 19 | 33 |
From Arabic 'layl' meaning 'night'. Famous from the classical Arabic/Persian love story of Layla and Majnun.
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.
Layla is more popular than Aisha today: about 5,338 US babies were given the name Layla in 2025, compared with 910 named Aisha.
Layla means night (arabic origin), while Aisha means Living, alive; prospering (arabic origin).
In US records, Layla first appears in 1950 and Aisha in 1950, so Layla has the longer recorded history.