Fun Facts About the Name Lylah
- More than 8 thousand babies named Lylah: U.S. records list 8,540 babies given the name Lylah from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Lylah Mean?
Lylah is an English spelling of the girl's name also written Lila and Lilah. Two unrelated names that sound alike in English lie behind these spellings.
The first is Sanskrit līlā (लीला), meaning "play," "sport," or "amusement." In Hindu religious writing the word names divine play: the free, unhurried activity by which a deity acts in the world, above all in accounts of Krishna. Used as a given name in India, Lila carries the sense "play" or "divine play."
The second is the Arabic name Laylā (ليلى), formed from laylah (ليلة), "night." The same Semitic root gave Hebrew laylah (לַיְלָה), also "night," though in Hebrew it is an ordinary noun and not a personal name. Where Lylah stands for Layla or Leila, the meaning is "night."
A separate European use belongs to German and Hungarian, in which lila is the word for the color lilac and Lila is used as a Hungarian given name; no clear link between that usage and the English spellings has been shown. Lilah is also sometimes explained as a short form of the Hebrew name Delilah, whose own meaning is disputed - a derivation that would be unrelated to both the Sanskrit and the Arabic names.
Lylah Name History & Origins
In India, līlā is both a literary and a religious term. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa and later devotional poetry in several Indian languages describe Krishna's līlā, and philosophers used the word to describe the world as the play of the divine. Lila is used as a woman's given name in a number of Indian languages.
In the Arabic-speaking world, Layla was an established woman's name long before it traveled to Europe. The romance of Layla and Majnun, in which the poet Qays loses his reason over his love for Layla, was told in Arabic verse and retold at length in Persian by Nezami of Ganja in the twelfth century. Through Persian, Turkish, and Urdu versions of the story, and later through European translations, the name became familiar well outside the Arab world, and it appears in English and other European languages as Leila, Lila, Lilah, and Layla.
The spellings with y followed the same path as other English respellings: Lila became Lyla, and Lylah added the final h found in Lilah. Most English speakers pronounce Lila, Lilah, and Lylah the same way, so the choice among them is a matter of spelling rather than sound.
How Popular is the Name Lylah?
Lylah recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Its best rank was #544 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #585 | 503 | 0.0313% |
| 2024 | #544 | 555 | 0.0344% |
| 2023 | #603 | 493 | 0.0308% |
| 2022 | #584 | 512 | 0.0312% |
| 2021 | #580 | 522 | 0.0318% |
| 2020 | #594 | 489 | 0.0303% |
| 2019 | #637 | 461 | 0.0275% |
| 2018 | #638 | 469 | 0.0276% |
| 2017 | #641 | 460 | 0.0267% |
| 2016 | #694 | 418 | 0.0236% |
| 2015 | #632 | 453 | 0.0254% |
| 2014 | #615 | 469 | 0.0263% |
| 2013 | #641 | 440 | 0.0251% |
| 2012 | #635 | 450 | 0.0256% |
| 2011 | #643 | 445 | 0.0253% |
| 2010 | #763 | 359 | 0.0202% |
| 2009 | #828 | 341 | 0.0186% |
| 2008 | #1,270 | 197 | 0.0104% |
| 2007 | #1,514 | 153 | 0.0080% |
| 2006 | #2,239 | 86 | 0.0045% |
| 2005 | #3,241 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 2004 | #3,789 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2003 | #4,163 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2002 | #4,577 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2001 | #5,107 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2000 | #5,842 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #6,089 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1998 | #7,372 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1972 | #9,048 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1933 | #4,608 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #5,001 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1928 | #4,515 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1923 | #5,403 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #3,250 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #4,584 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #4,201 | 6 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Lylah Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Lylah's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lylah's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.