Leighla
Feminine name derived from the Irish Gaelic name Lea meaning "island meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 876 living Americans carry the first name Leighla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leighla today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leighla births was 2019 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leighla. 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.
People living today
876
~ 1 in 391,272 Americans
Peak year
2019
63 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,410
Tracked since 1988
Popularity
Leighla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leighla from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 464 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Leighla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leighla 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 Leighla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leighlas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Leighla, while Ohio, Michigan, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leighla
The name Leighla has its origins in the Gaelic language and cultures of the Celtic regions of the British Isles. It is believed to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, though its precise roots are somewhat unclear. One theory suggests it is derived from the Old Irish word "léith," meaning "gray" or "hoary," combined with a diminutive suffix such as "-la" or "-lean."
Another possible origin traces Leighla back to the Old Irish name "Laighile," which itself may have been a variant of the name "Lachlainn" or "Lochlann," meaning "from Norway" or "from the land of the Norse." This would suggest a connection to the Vikings who raided and settled in parts of Ireland and Scotland during the 8th to 11th centuries.
While there are no definitive historical references or mentions of the name Leighla in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in medieval Irish and Scottish genealogical records and chronicles from the 12th to 14th centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Leighla O'Boyle, a 14th-century Irish noblewoman from County Donegal, who was recorded as the wife of Niall Óg O'Donnell, a prominent chieftain of the O'Donnell clan.
Another notable figure was Leighla MacLean, a 16th-century Scottish woman from the Clan MacLean, who was recorded as the wife of Hector Mor, the 15th Chief of the Clan MacLean, in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, Leighla O'Neill was a member of the powerful O'Neill dynasty of Ulster, who was recorded as the wife of Sir Phelim O'Neill, a key figure in the Irish Rebellion of 1641.
Moving into the 18th century, Leighla Cameron was a Scottish woman from the Clan Cameron, who was recorded as the wife of Donald Cameron, a Jacobite soldier and supporter of the House of Stuart during the Jacobite risings of the early 1700s.
Finally, in the 19th century, Leighla O'Connor was an Irish woman from County Mayo, who was recorded as the wife of Patrick O'Connor, a prominent landowner and member of the local gentry in the mid-1800s.
These examples illustrate the long and diverse history of the name Leighla across various Celtic cultures and regions, spanning from medieval times to the 19th century.
People
Leighla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leighla 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
Leighla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leighla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 876 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leighla 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 391,272 US residents.
Is Leighla a common name?
We classify Leighla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 884 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leighla most popular?
The single biggest year for Leighla was 2019, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leighla is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leighla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leighla 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.
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.