Lila

The Arabic Layla became famous through the 7th century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, known as Majnun, whose unrequited love for Layla inspired the foundational Arabic romance Layla and Majnun.

The story was later adapted by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi in 1188 and became one of the most influential love narratives in Islamic literature, comparable in cultural weight to Romeo and Juliet.

The Sanskrit concept of līlā appears extensively in the Bhagavata Purana, composed between the 8th and 10th centuries, where it describes the playful activities of Krishna.

The name entered Western usage through 19th century Orientalist literature and became more widely known in English through George du Maurier’s novel Trilby (1894) and various Victorian romances.

In the United States, Lila appeared in the top 1000 throughout the late 19th century, peaked around 1885, then declined sharply and disappeared from the rankings between 1968 and 2006.

It has since returned emphatically, reaching the top 150 in the early 2020s as part of the broader revival of short, vowel-rich vintage names. The name is also popular in France, where it ranks among the top 20, and across the United Kingdom.

Notable bearers include American author Lila Abu-Lughod, anthropologist at Columbia University, and the name figures prominently in Marilynne Robinson’s novel Lila (2014), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.