| Layla | Amira | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | night | princess |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | LAY-lah | ah-MEER-ah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1950 | 1963 |
| Peak year | 2019 (6,523) | 2024 (2,182) |
| In 2025 | 5,338 | 2,168 |
| Trend | Steady | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Layla | Amira |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 35,046 | 10,336 |
| 2010s | 63,242 | 8,199 |
| 2000s | 26,209 | 4,635 |
| 1990s | 2,189 | 1,563 |
| 1980s | 1,052 | 595 |
| 1970s | 1,355 | 257 |
| 1960s | 24 | 24 |
| 1950s | 19 | 0 |
From Arabic 'layl' meaning 'night'. Famous from the classical Arabic/Persian love story of Layla and Majnun.
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'.)
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.
Layla means night (arabic origin), while Amira means princess (arabic origin).
In US records, Layla first appears in 1950 and Amira in 1963, so Layla has the longer recorded history.