Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Layla

Meaning — From the Arabic root "l-y-l" meaning night, Layla conveys the mystery, beauty, and intoxication of darkness. It is immortalized in the ancient Arabic tale of Qays and Layla, one of the most celebrated love stories in Arabic and Persian literary tradition, in which Layla represents an unattainable ideal of beauty and longing.·Arabic origin·Female·LAY-lah

Layla Layla is a name saturated with romantic longing, nocturnal mystery, and an almost mythic beauty. Characters named Layla often occupy the role of the beloved — the source of another's passion — but the best portrayals give Layla her own interiority: a woman who knows her power and navigates it with complex, layered emotion.

Best genres for Layla

RomanceHistorical FictionLiterary FictionPoetryMythology

Famous characters named Layla

Layla

Layla and Majnun — Nizami Ganjavi

The unattainable beloved whose name drives the poet Qays to madness (majnun), becoming in Sufi interpretation a symbol of the soul's longing for the divine.


Variations & nicknames

LaylaLeilaLailaLyla

Pairs well with

Layla Al-HassanLayla MansourLayla KhalilLayla NasserLayla RashidLayla Aziz

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Related names


More Arabic names

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.”

Yusuf

“The Arabic form of Joseph, derived from the Hebrew "Yosef" meaning "God will add" or "God increases". In the Quran, Yusuf is described as the most beautiful of all stories, and the Prophet Yusuf's tale of betrayal, patience, and ultimate triumph is one of the most celebrated in Islamic literature.”

Samir

“From the Arabic root "s-m-r" meaning to entertain with evening conversation or to keep company at night, Samir is the masculine counterpart of Samira and means "one who entertains at night" or "jovial companion". The name evokes the beloved tradition of evening storytelling and conversation in Arabic culture.”

Malak

“From the Arabic "malak" meaning angel or heavenly messenger — the divine intermediaries between God and humanity in Islamic theology. Malak is used as both a masculine and feminine name, though in contemporary usage it skews feminine, conveying the pure, luminous beauty of the angelic beings described in the Quran.”

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.”

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.”


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