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

Aziz

From the Arabic root "ʿ-z-z" meaning to be mighty, powerful, or rare and precious — conveying both physical strength and the rarity of the precious. Al-Aziz (The Mighty) is one of the 99 names of God in Islam. As a name for humans, Aziz means "powerful", "dear", "precious", or "beloved", combining strength with preciousness.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah is an Arabic feminine given name, the feminine form of Ali, meaning "high," "exalted," "sublime," or "ascending." In Arabic it literally means "high," "lofty," or "sublime," suggesting a person of elevated spiritual and personal stature. The name became widely known in English-speaking countries in the 1990s through the American R&B singer Aaliyah.

Hamza

From the Arabic root "ḥ-m-z" meaning to be strong, lion-hearted, or sharp, Hamza conveys fierce strength and bravery. It is borne by Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet Muhammad's uncle and one of the greatest warriors of early Islam, who earned the title "Lion of God" (Asad Allah) and "Master of Martyrs" (Sayyid al-Shuhada).

Zuleikha

From Arabic "Zulaykha", of uncertain etymology — possibly from an Aramaic or Coptic root. In Islamic and Persian literary tradition, Zuleikha is the name given to Potiphar's wife (unnamed in the Bible) who falls in love with the prophet Yusuf (Joseph) and attempts to seduce him — her story was famously retold by the Persian poet Jami in "Yusuf and Zulaikha" as a Sufi allegory of the soul's love for God.

Amira

From the Arabic root "a-m-r" meaning to command, to rule, or to flourish, Amira is the feminine form of "amir" (prince or commander) and means "princess", "leader", or "one who commands". It conveys royal feminine authority combined with the moral dimension of true leadership.

Reem

From the Arabic "rīm" (also written "raim") meaning a white gazelle or oryx — the most graceful of desert animals and a classic symbol of feminine beauty in Arabic poetry. The gazelle's eyes (عيون الغزال, uyun al-ghazal) are the supreme poetic compliment for a woman's beauty in the Arabic lyric tradition.


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