Which is the best spelling of.....

[Spice17]

Layla?

The first one or Leila or Laila? My surname is 5 letters with an i in the middle, so I was thinking Leila/Laila was a no but DH thinks Laila is nice 'and exotic' I prefer Layla.

Any thoughts?

TIA :)

Thanks again all, it's my no 1 choice at the moment, can't think of anything else that feels as right IYSWIM?

I can also imagine Layla's/Leila's/Laila's are little madams. But cute though! :)

That's my eldest daughter's name. Husband is half Iraqi. we spell it LAILA. but pronounce it layla.
I think all the other spellings are horrible!

It's Layla.

The best spelling imo is Layla. All the others can cause mispronounciations when people try to read it (like in waiting rooms and such, I've heard all sorts, hate it when people think Leila is pronounced Lie-la.

It's a great name though, don't worry about its arabic origins. Not all arabic people are dark either, Syrians, Jordanians, Lebanese etc etc can all be quite fair skinned with light hair and their arabic names still suit them just fine.

Well as it's an Arabic name, the spelling tends to be phonetic. I teach Arabs. Have seen it spelt lots of different ways, but that can also depend on how good the parents spelling is in English when they register them for college.

Leila.

some people do pronounce leila liela. its very common in the arabic world and in india.

I think Leila / Layla is Arabic for "night"...as in "Alf Leila Wa Leila" = 1001 nights...a very pretty name!

Can also mean dark in Arabic.

Leila. It's my sister's name - other spellings look weird!

I think Leila is a very pretty name.
.......But having just read the "50 shades of grey" trilogy I'm not so sure now. (the character is an ex-lover/psycho with a gun who nearly ruins everything for our heroes!)

The top 300 names has 4 spellings - as well as the three you've mentioned there's 'Leyla' (just to be helpful )

I like Layla and Laila the best.

Leila.

Layla.