Laily
An Arabic feminine name meaning "born at night".
Name Census estimates that about 68 living Americans carry the first name Laily. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laily today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laily births was 2010 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laily. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Laily with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Laily. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
68
~ 1 in 5,040,505 Americans
Peak year
2010
12 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,408
Tracked since 2000
Census
Laily in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Laily, which placed it at #43,643 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
36.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laily
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laily is Asian/Pacific Islander at 36.0%. The next largest groups are White (26.1%) and Hispanic (22.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Laily described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Laily at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander36.0% · 58
- White26.1% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino22.4% · 36
- Two or more races9.3% · 15
- Black or African American4.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
Popularity
Laily: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laily from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 30 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Laily remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laily by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Laily during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laily
The name Laily originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in ancient Islamic culture. It is a feminine name derived from the Arabic word "layl," which means "night." The name is often associated with beauty, grace, and mystique, evoking the enchanting qualities of the night.
In the context of Islamic tradition, the name Laily is linked to the famous love story of Layla and Majnun. This tragic tale, which dates back to the 7th century, tells the story of Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, who became madly in love with his cousin Layla. Their love was forbidden, and Qays became known as Majnun (meaning "possessed by jinn" or "madman") due to his obsession with Layla. This legendary love story has been a source of inspiration for poets, writers, and artists throughout the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Laily can be found in the poetry of the renowned Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209 AD). In his epic poem "Khosrow and Shirin," Nizami references the character of Laily, further cementing the name's significance in literature and poetic tradition.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Laily. One of the most famous was Laily al-Amiriyah (1240-1290 AD), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Damascus. Her poetry was celebrated for its elegance and depth, and she was regarded as one of the most influential literary figures of her time.
Another notable Laily was Laily Sheikhi (1890-1964), a prominent Iranian painter and calligrapher. She was one of the first women to establish herself as a professional artist in Iran and played a significant role in promoting the arts and empowering women in her country.
In the realm of music, Laily Fouda (1942-2002) was an Egyptian singer and actress who achieved international fame for her captivating voice and performances. She was known for her interpretations of traditional Arabic songs and her contributions to the preservation of Egypt's cultural heritage.
More recently, Laily Saleem (born 1986) is a prominent Pakistani writer and journalist. Her works explore themes of identity, gender, and social issues, and she has been recognized for her contributions to literature and advocacy for women's rights.
While the name Laily has its roots in ancient Arabic and Islamic cultures, it has transcended borders and gained popularity across various regions and communities, with individuals from diverse backgrounds embracing its beauty and significance.
People
Laily + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laily as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Laily: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laily?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laily going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,040,505 US residents.
Is Laily a common name?
We classify Laily as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 69 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laily most popular?
The single biggest year for Laily was 2010, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laily is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laily in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Laily, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Laily in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Laily?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laily leans strongly female. 152 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 9 male bearers (5.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Laily?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laily is Asian/Pacific Islander at 36.0%. The next largest groups are White (26.1%) and Hispanic (22.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Laily most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Laily in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.0% (58 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Laily in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laily a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laily in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Laily still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laily in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Laily can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Laily?
Want to know how many Americans are named Laily? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.