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

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.

Samira

From the Arabic root "s-m-r" meaning to entertain with evening conversation, to keep company at night, Samira means "entertainer" or "one who converses at night". It evokes the intimate gathering of friends telling stories by firelight — a deeply cultural practice in Arabic tradition.

Emine

Emine is a Turkish feminine name of Arabic origin, from the Arabic "Amina" (أمينة), derived from "amn" meaning "safety, trust, faithfulness". It means "trustworthy", "faithful", or "one who is safe". The name is the Turkish form of the Arabic Amina and is among the most common women's names in Turkey. Emine is also the name of the wife of the Prophet Muhammad's father.

Ziad

From the Arabic root "z-y-d" meaning to increase, to add to, or to exceed, Ziad means "growth", "abundance", or "one who increases (in virtue, wealth, or fame)". It conveys the Arabic value of continual increase and improvement — always exceeding yesterday's measure.

Tariq

From the Arabic root "ṭ-r-q" meaning to knock, to strike, or the morning star that knocks at the door of night, Tariq evokes the brilliance of a star that pierces darkness. It is borne by Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Berber-Muslim general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711 CE, lending his name to Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq).

Fatima

From the Arabic root "f-ṭ-m" meaning to wean a child or to abstain from something, Fatima historically meant "one who abstains" or "the weaning one". In Islamic tradition, Fatima al-Zahra is the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and is venerated as one of the most important women in Islam, especially in Shia tradition.


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