Lyla

Lyla is a modern respelling of Lila, itself a quieter cousin of Leila, with roots that travel from the Arabic layla, night, to the Sanskrit lila, divine play. The y gives it a slight contemporary spin, the sort of spelling choice that signals a name chosen in the 2010s rather than inherited. It has climbed rapidly alongside Layla and Lila, currently sitting around the top 85 for American girls. Two light syllables, soft as a hand resting on a shoulder, the name reads as calm and companionable. Lyla suits a child with a steady gaze, neither shy nor showy, already entirely herself.