Leila

Leila is night in two syllables. From the Arabic and Persian Layla, traditionally read as "night" or "dark beauty," the name belongs to the seventh-century beloved of the poet Qays in the classical Layla and Majnun romance — a tale often called the Romeo and Juliet of the East, retold by Nizami in twelfth-century Persian verse. Eric Clapton's 1970 song borrowed the passion; Byron borrowed the name for The Giaour in 1813. Leila now sits around 268 on the US charts. Two soft vowel-led syllables, the long open diphthong. Cross-cultural, quietly romantic, unmistakably musical. A name that carries its own atmosphere.