Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Laila

Meaning — A variant spelling of Layla/Leila, from the Arabic root "l-y-l" meaning night. Laila captures the same connotations of nocturnal beauty, mystery, and intoxicating longing that have made this name one of the most celebrated in Arabic and Persian literary tradition, through the endlessly retold love story of Laila and Majnun.·Arabic origin·Female·LAY-lah

Laila Laila shares the deep romantic resonance of Layla — a name suffused with night, longing, and a beauty that becomes a kind of fate for those who encounter it. Characters named Laila often must reckon with the weight of being desired and mythologized, finding their own interiority in a story that others keep trying to tell for them.

Best genres for Laila

RomanceHistorical FictionLiterary FictionContemporary Fiction

Famous characters named Laila

Laila

Layla and Majnun Nizami Ganjavi

The tribal girl whose name and inaccessibility drive the poet Qays to madness — in Sufi interpretation a symbol of the divine beloved that the soul pursues across every barrier.


Variations & nicknames

LailaLaylaLeilaLyla

Pairs well with

Laila Al-HassanLaila MansourLaila KhalilLaila NasserLaila RashidLaila Aziz

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Related names


More Arabic names

Nadia

From the Arabic root "n-d-w" meaning to call out, to announce, or to gather for a meeting, giving the meaning "one who makes announcements" or "herald". In Slavic languages, Nadia/Nadya is a form of Nadezhda meaning hope. In the Arabic tradition, the name carries the sense of the morning dew that refreshes — the nada of dawn.

Nour

Directly from the Arabic word "nūr" meaning light, radiance, or divine illumination. In Islamic mysticism (Sufism), nūr represents the divine light of God that permeates creation, a concept central to the Quran's famous "Light Verse" (Ayat al-Nur, 24:35), where God is described as the light of the heavens and the earth.

Jibril

The Arabic form of Gabriel, from the Hebrew "Gavri'el" meaning "God is my strength" or "strong man of God", compounded from "gibbor" (strong, mighty) and "El" (God). In Islam, Jibril is the archangel who revealed the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad — the most important angel in Islamic theology and the divine messenger par excellence.

Hind

An ancient Arabic feminine name, possibly derived from the name for a female deer (hind in English as well), though in Arabic the connection is to a class of beautiful, graceful animals. Hind is one of the oldest feminine names in the Arabic tradition, borne by numerous notable women in early Islamic and pre-Islamic history, including Hind bint Utbah, the formidable wife of Abu Sufyan.

Khadijah

A variant spelling of Khadija, from an Arabic root meaning "premature child" or "born early", though the name is associated entirely with honor and strength. The variant spelling Khadijah reflects the Arabic definite article voweling and is used interchangeably with Khadija — both refer to the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the most important women in Islamic history.

Amina

From the Arabic root "a-m-n" conveying safety, peace, and trust, Amina means "trustworthy", "faithful", or "safe". It is borne by Amina bint Wahb, the mother of the Prophet Muhammad, and the name has been used throughout the Islamic world as an expression of moral integrity and protection.


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