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

Writing a character named Laila?

Hearth's distraction-free editor helps you develop characters and write every day.

Start writing free

Related names


More Arabic names

Ahmed

From the Arabic root "ḥ-m-d" meaning to praise or commend, Ahmed signifies "most praiseworthy" or "most commendable". It is one of the most widespread masculine names in the Islamic world, sharing its root with the name Muhammad, and is considered one of the names of the Prophet in Islamic tradition.

Saladin

From the Arabic "Salah ad-Din" meaning "righteousness of the faith" or "goodness of the religion", compounded from "salah" (righteousness, goodness) and "ad-din" (the faith). Saladin (Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub) was the great 12th-century Kurdish-Muslim sultan and military genius, famous for recapturing Jerusalem in 1187 CE and for his chivalry toward defeated Crusaders.

Jabir

From the Arabic root "j-b-r" meaning to set a bone, to restore, to compel, or to console — the root from which the word "algebra" (al-jabr) is derived. Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber) was the 8th-century Arab alchemist and chemist widely regarded as the father of chemistry, whose extensive writings on experimental science shaped both Islamic and European science.

Zubaidah

From the Arabic root "z-b-d" meaning butter, cream, or the best and choicest part of something — conveying the richness of the finest thing. Zubaidah bint Ja'far was the powerful wife of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, celebrated for her philanthropy, especially her construction of the "Zubaidah Road" supplying water to Mecca.

Maryam

The Arabic form of Mary/Miriam, derived from the Hebrew "Miryam" whose precise etymology is debated — suggested meanings include "beloved", "bitter sea", or "wished-for child". In the Quran, Maryam (Mary) is the only woman referred to by name, and she has an entire chapter (Surah 19) dedicated to her, venerated as a model of purity and devotion.

Jamil

From the Arabic jamīl meaning "beautiful, handsome, graceful", derived from the root j-m-l meaning "beauty, comeliness". The concept of jamal (beauty) in Arabic culture encompasses both physical and moral beauty, and the name has been borne by poets, scholars, and caliphs throughout Islamic history. Jamil ibn Muammar, the eighth-century Arab poet, made the name synonymous with pure, devoted love.


Explore more