Laila, Layla, Leila, Lejla or Leyla (Arabic: ليلى) is an internationally-used Arabic feminine given name originating in the Semitic languages. The name is derived from the tri-consonantal root: L-Y-L (ليل, a root shared with the Hebrew name Lilith) and means "Night"; over time it has been taken to mean "Born at Night," "Dark-haired Beauty" or "Dark Beauty."[1]
The 7th century Arab poet Qays addressed romantic poems to a woman called Layla. The story of Qays and Layla or Layla and Majnun became a popular romance in the medieval Arab World and Persia,[2] and use of the name spread accordingly; it gained popularity further afield in the Muslim World, among the Turkic peoples and in the Balkans and India. It has also acquired a following among Jews and in the English-speaking world, especially after the 1970 hit song "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.[2]
In the Nordic countries, Laila or Lajla (pronounced lie-lah) is derived from the Sami name Láilá, the Sami variant of Helga which means holy.[3]
[edit] People with this name
- Laila Ali, boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali
- Laila Ali Abdulla, First Lady of the Maldives
- Laila Bagge, Swedish manager and songwriter
- Laila Freivalds, Swedish Social-Democrat
- Laila Harré, New Zealand politician
- Laila Hirvisaari, Finnish author and writer
- Laila Lalami, novelist and essayist
- Laila Mehdin, Indian actress
- Laila Rouass, English actress
- Laila Stien, Norwegian writer
- DJ Laila, Filipino radio and television presenter
- Laila (musician), an American R&B musician
- Leila Aboulela, Sudanese writer
- Leila Ahmed, Egyptian-American professor
- Leila Arab, London-based musician of Persian descent
- Leila Barros, Brazilian volleyball player
- Leila Bela, Iranian-American avant-garde musician, actress and writer
- Leila Denmark, an American pediatrician
- Leila Forouhar, Iranian singer and actress
- Leila Hatami, Iranian actress, star of the 1996 Iranian film Leila
- Leila Hayes, Australian actress
- Leila Hyams, American film actress
- Leila Josefowicz, American violinist
- Leila K, Swedish rapper
- Leila Khaled, Palestinian Militant and senior PFLP member
- Leila Lopes, Angolan Miss Universe 2011 winner
- Leila McKinnon, Iranian-Australian journalist
- Leila Mourad, Egyptian singer and movie star
- Leila Pahlavi, Iranian princess
- Leila Sobral, Brazilian basketball player
- Leila Tong, Hong Kong actress and singer
- Leila Vaziri, Iranian-American swimmer, world record holder
- Leila Waddell, mistress of notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley
- Leyla Achba, princess at the Ottoman court
- Leyla Chihuán, Peruvian volleyball player
- Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano opera singer
- Leyla Qasim, Kurdish activist in Iraq
- Leyla Mammadbeyova, the first female Azerbaijani aviator
- Leyla Milani, American a model of Iranian descent
- Leyla Neyzi, Turkish academic
- Leyla Pınar, Turkish harpsichordist and musicologist
- Leyla Saz Hanimefendi, composer, poet and writer of Cretan Turkish descent
- Leyla Tuğutlu, Turkish beauty queen
- Leyla Vakilova, Azerbaijani ballerina
- Leyla Zana, Kurdish politician from Turkey
[edit] Fictional characters
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Norman, 2003, p. 359.
- ^ a b Layla, Behind the Name. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ Láilá, Behind the Name. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
[edit] Bibliography
