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