Leila
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic. From Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā). Taken into English usage through nineteenth-century literature.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Leila (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Leila has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2020. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 10 |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | 15 |
| 2001 | 14 |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | 13 |
| 2004 | 16 |
| 2005 | 21 |
| 2006 | 15 |
| 2007 | 23 |
| 2008 | 25 |
| 2009 | 30 |
| 2010 | 38 |
| 2011 | 31 |
| 2012 | 34 |
| 2013 | 40 |
| 2014 | 40 |
| 2015 | 27 |
| 2016 | 34 |
| 2017 | 39 |
| 2018 | 31 |
| 2019 | 31 |
| 2020 | 42 |
| 2021 | 28 |
| 2022 | 41 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2,010 |
| 2000 | 2,029 |
| 2001 | 2,055 |
| 2002 | 2,071 |
| 2003 | 2,067 |
| 2004 | 2,073 |
| 2005 | 2,091 |
| 2006 | 2,129 |
| 2007 | 2,152 |
| 2008 | 2,190 |
| 2009 | 2,261 |
| 2010 | 2,314 |
| 2011 | 2,353 |
| 2012 | 2,399 |
| 2013 | 2,453 |
| 2014 | 2,495 |
| 2015 | 2,535 |
| 2016 | 2,597 |
| 2017 | 2,658 |
| 2018 | 2,686 |
| 2019 | 2,711 |
| 2020 | 2,733 |
Leila in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Leila.Hi! My name is Leila.
- Har du träffat Leila? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Leila? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Leila kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Leila is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Leilas mamma är lärare.Leila's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Leilas mamma is Leila's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Leila
How do you pronounce Leila in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Leila in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Leila mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic. From Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā). Taken into English usage through nineteenth-century literature.
How popular is Leila in Sweden?
41 babies were named Leila in 2022. In 2020, 2,733 people in Sweden had Leila as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2020 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.