Lela

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Lela is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name23K records spelled Lela16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, France, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Léla, Lêla, Lélà, Lèla, Lelà

• Indonesian given name10K records spelled Lela3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, United States, India

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Lélà

• a separate given name5.5K records spelled Lela2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Lelā

• Croatian given name3.7K records spelled Lela17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Croatia, Serbia, United States, North Macedonia

  Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian

  Also written Лела, Lella, Lelä, Lélla

• Amharic given name882 records spelled Lela4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, Italy, India

  Also written ሌላ, ለላ, Léla

• Greek given name749 records spelled Lela5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, Cyprus, United States, Kyrgyzstan

  Also written Λελα, Λέλα, Léla, Lèla

49 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Lela is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Swahili, variant of Layla

  as a name·African Muslim Names

• In lua, to give birth to, bear, bring forth, produce, deliver (as child), beget or generate (male).

  as a word·Grammar and Dictionary of the Buluba-Lulua Language

• In Malagasy, tongue

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In ss, that over there, yonder; class 5 remote demonstrative.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Malagasy, tongue; blade of a knife, sword, etc.

  as a word·Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD), CLDF v2.0

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Lela Blissb. 1896USAmerican actress (1896-1980)
• Lela Karagiannib. 1898GRGreek resistance leader
• Lela Swiftb. 1919USAmerican television director
• Lela Iveyb. 1958USAmerican actress
• Lelab. 1962BRBrazilian footballer
• Lela Rochonb. 1964USAmerican actress and film producer (born 1964)
• Lela Tsurtsumiab. 1969GEGeorgian singer
• Lela Javakhishvilib. 1984GEGeorgian chess player
• Lela Starb. 1985USAmerican pornographic actress
• Lela Leeb. 2000USactress, writer, cartoonist, creator, producer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 563 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lela?

We estimate roughly 32 thousand people bear Lela (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Lela have the most bearers?

We estimate about 19 thousand people bear Lela in Georgia, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled lela.

Where is Lela most common?

Lela is densest in Georgia, where the national register counts about 1 in 211 people carrying it.

How common is Lela compared with other names?

In Georgia, Lela is the 59th most common given name of 34,237 given names recorded there.

Is Lela a male or female name?

Lela is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Lela mean?

Recorded meaning: A female given name from Georgian ლელა (lela).