Leila?

[Nell96]

Opinions on Leila? Pronounced Layla, but much prefer Leila as a spelling. DH loves the name. I like it, but have reservations...

Is it too popular? Do you know any?

Will it just get mixed up with Lola, Lila, Lyra, Luna etc.?

Is it a bit too girly / frilly? Ideally, I'd prefer something a bit stronger sounding.

I have a Leila in the family spelled as such

Everyone calls her leela and she hates it

She hates the name too TBF

I don't know about Farsi @SeanChailleach but the final letter in the name Leila in Arabic is an alif maqsura.

I do speak and read Farsi and Leyli is also a family name. I can read the name 'Leyli' in the Farsi on that wiki page you linked to . 'Layla' would be spelled with an 'a' or 'aa' sound at the end but there is an 'ee' sound there instead.

I'd assume its Leela, and I immediately think of Futurama

It is a beautiful name. I like that your husband loves it, think that's lovely. Good taste.
When I hear the name , I do burst out into song. Sometimes in my head, sometimes not !

Thanks @meadowhay and @orangenasturtium . I can see two spellings - laam-alef and alef maqsura. Maybe both are okay?

Leila in Arabic is ليلى‎ @SeanChailleach I think لیلا‎ is Farsi, at least, I have never seen it spelled that way in Arabic. Do you have a link?

Both Leila and Leili are widely used

Are you confusing the alif maqsura with a ya and reading it as Leili ليلي ?

In my 6yo DD's class there is a
Leila - pronounced Lee-la
Laila - pronounced Lay-la
Leah - pronounced Lee-ahh
and an Amelia.

There are three classes in her year group. Why the school didn't mix them up I don't know.

@orangenasturtium I am just putting the Roman spelling into search engine, FB etc and all manner of spellings get lots of hits.
@meadowhay says this is an ee sound in Farsi.
"Layla & Majnun (Persian: لیلی و مجنون‎ Leyli o Majnun Arabic: مجنون ليلى‎ Majnūn Laylā, 'Layla's Mad Lover'"
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layla_and_Majnun
Looks like an Alef maqsura to me too but I can barely read the script.

Interesting comments, thank you. I also wondered whether people think that there would be an issue with using this name without having any links to Persian or Arabic heritage / culture? The name was introduced to Britain by Byron, so has been around for a while, and therefore I think it's fine, would be interested to hear the thoughts of others.

I think it's fine, it's a popular name that's been around for quite a while so I don't think people would even notice.

Of the 4 I know only the Lejla has Arabic heritage.

according to the genametor (name generator algorithm) the Persian name Leila is considered 65% feminine meaning 6 out of 10 people will assume its a girlish name!

There is the Persian/ Arabic name, which is also popular Hebrew name, then there is the Norse name, a diminutive of Heilige, and the Irish/ Gaelic affectionate name. These last two are around a thousand years old in Scotland. I'm pretty sure Scots Gaelic is something like Laogh alladh which means wild calf or Laogh liom which really just means my darling. Or maybe laoidhe (song) I can't see a sensible etymology for it, they are all post hoc rationalisations. Anyway centuries before Byron the big poseur.

I think it's a beautiful name and the anglicised form has a long history of being used here so it's fine to use it @Nell96 It's also a Hebrew name לילה, the angel of conception, children and night. It's not a biblical name though... no female angels in the Bible ה is often transliterated as -ah (like the names Sarah, Leah and Hannah that have Hebrew origins) so you could spell the name Laylah or Leilah.

@SeanChailleachI the final letter ya in doesn't have dots in Farsi, like an alif maqsura in Arabic, so it would be an -ee like MeadowHay says. I believe Layla written in Farsi would be written with a lam alif لیلا‎ but it definitely isn't in Arabic. I think Layli is a Persian name from the same root ل ي ل but it is a different name, not an alternative spelling/pronunciation IYSWIM? Like نورا Noura and نور Noor. Or Rose and Rosa.

Sorry for derailing your thread, OP!

Oops the line break messed with the bidirectional text.

It should be the root for night: ل ي ل