Laylan
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "night beauty" or "born at night".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Laylan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Laylan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laylan births was 2014 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laylan. 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 Laylan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Laylan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
2014
7 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,527
Tracked since 2011
Gender
Gender distribution for Laylan
Laylan is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 24 total registrations, 5 (20.8%) were male and 19 (79.2%) were female.
Laylan as a male name
- Ranked #13,527 in 2011
- 5 male births in 2011
- Peak: 2011 (5 births)
Laylan as a female name
- Ranked #14,378 in 2020
- 6 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2014 (7 births)
Popularity
Laylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laylan from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 18 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Laylan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laylan 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 Laylan 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 Laylan
The name Laylan has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, originating from the Middle East region. The name is derived from the Arabic word "layl," which means "night" or "darkness." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been associated with the beauty, mystery, or serenity of the night.
In Islamic literature and history, there are references to individuals with the name Laylan, although their significance or roles may not be extensively documented. One prominent figure bearing this name was Laylan al-Dimashqi, a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar from Damascus, Syria, who lived in the 12th century CE.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Laylan can be traced back to the medieval Islamic world, particularly in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa. However, it is essential to note that record-keeping practices and the preservation of historical documents from that era were often limited, making it challenging to pinpoint the exact origin and timeline of the name's usage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Laylan, although their significance may vary across different cultures and time periods. One such figure was Laylan al-Basri, an influential Islamic scholar and theologian from Basra, Iraq, who lived in the 8th century CE. He was known for his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence and his teachings on various aspects of the faith.
Another individual worth mentioning is Laylan al-Mutatabbib, a renowned physician and scholar from Persia (modern-day Iran) who lived during the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the field of medicine and was highly regarded for his expertise in the treatment of various ailments.
In more recent times, Laylan al-Sayegh, a Kuwaiti writer and poet born in 1949, gained recognition for his literary works and contributions to the cultural landscape of the Arabian Gulf region.
It is important to note that while the name Laylan has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, transcending cultural and geographic boundaries.
People
Laylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laylan 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
Laylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laylan 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Laylan a common name?
We classify Laylan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Laylan was 2014, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laylan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Laylan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laylan a female name?
Yes, 79.2% of people registered as Laylan 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 Laylan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laylan 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 Laylan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Laylan?
See how many Americans are named Laylan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.