Lila
Comes from Arabic and Persian layla, meaning night. A separate Sanskrit word lila, meaning play or divine sport, supplies an Indian name of the same spelling.
Lila in 2025
Lila was given to 1,670 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 409th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 1,985 babies born.
The history of Lila
Lila reached its highest point in 2010, when 1,969 babies were given the name, ranking 346th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 272nd, in 1904.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 76,550 babies have been named Lila. Half of them were born before 1969, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Lila by decade
| Decade | Babies named Lila | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 691 | 341 |
| 1890s | 1,673 | 292 |
| 1900s | 2,337 | 272 |
| 1910s | 5,567 | 310 |
| 1920s | 10,325 | 312 |
| 1930s | 7,876 | 310 |
| 1940s | 4,408 | 505 |
| 1950s | 3,569 | 755 |
| 1960s | 1,905 | 1,027 |
| 1970s | 1,234 | 1,516 |
| 1980s | 1,255 | 1,653 |
| 1990s | 1,560 | 1,306 |
| 2000s | 9,036 | 370 |
| 2010s | 16,568 | 346 |
| 2020s | 8,546 | 409 |
Where Lila is heading
Lila has held roughly steady over the past decade, from 1,658 babies in 2015 to 1,670 in 2025.
Names like Lila
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Lila.