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Leela

Leela: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“play, divine play”
Origin
Sanskrit
Say it
LEE-luh · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

From Sanskrit līlā, meaning 'play' or 'cosmic play'. It is used in India and also appears in transliterated forms such as Lila and Leila in different traditions.

Indian namesNames meaning joyClassic namesInternational names

How popular is Leela?

202456.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Leela in 2024185

2024 rank#1,252 girls

Peak year2016

Total US babies since 18804,369

Leela has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Leela

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Aryanoble; honorable · Sanskrit
  • Kalithe black one · Sanskrit
  • Alayadwelling, abode · Sanskrit
  • Opalgem; precious stone · Sanskrit
  • Ariyanoble · Sanskrit
  • Vedaknowledge · Sanskrit
  • Tarastar · Sanskrit
  • Anikagrace · Sanskrit

Leela questions

What does the name Leela mean?

Leela means "play, divine play". It comes from Sanskrit. From Sanskrit līlā, meaning 'play' or 'cosmic play'. It is used in India and also appears in transliterated forms such as Lila and Leila in different traditions.

Is Leela a boy or girl name?

Leela is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Leela?

185 US babies were named Leela in 2024. Its peak year was 2016.

How do you pronounce Leela?

Leela is usually pronounced LEE-luh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.