Meaning and background
The story behind Layla
Layla is an Arabic name written ليلى and connected with the word for “night”. It is central to the medieval love story of Layla and Majnun, retold by the Persian poet Nizami, and later became familiar in English-speaking music through the Derek and the Dominos song. English speakers usually say LAY-luh, while Arabic has a different diphthong and vowel length. Those are separate cultural uses of one documented name.
Try Layla out loud
Everyday moments“Layla, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Layla
Recorded as a dog’s name
Layla appears in 96 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/leɪlɑ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/leɪlɑ/ · primary stress on syllable 1L EY1 L AA0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
Compare your favourites
Put Layla beside another name before you decide.
Explore names like Layla
Narrow the finder by the features you want to keep.
In NameKennel collections
Editorial selections, not evidence of linguistic origin, suitability or popularity.
Sources and research notes (2)
Gender association: NYC licence-period records. Any dog can use this name.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.