ninan.org

Leela

Girls' name · Current · Sanskrit origin

Living in the US
~4,500 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,279 among girls
Births in 2025
175 4,545 since 1880
Typical age
11 years, median

Leela popularity over time

Leela rank by birth year, 1898–2025Leela ranked #1,700 in 1898 and #1,279 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #1,086, in 2013.#1,000#10,000#1,2791920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1898–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Leela in 2016 than in any other year — 232 of them. It first clears the SSA reporting threshold in 1898. The 2025 position is #1,279, on 175 births.

It slipped 20 places against the previous year.

Babies named Leela per yearPeaks at 232 births in 2016.232 in 201601920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Leela?

An estimated 4,500 living Americans are called Leela. That is out of 4,545 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Leela?

Half of living Leelas are older than 11, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 2010s. By the site’s era rules that makes Leela a current name.

Your Leela

Ages of living people named LeelaHalf of living Leelas are older than 11 and half younger.median 11020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Leela is most common

Relative to births, Minnesota carries 2.1× the national share of Leelas. Illinois, New York and California follow.

Where Leela is used more than average5 states use the name Leela more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 2.1× the national rateMNIllinois: 1.6× the national rateILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 1.6× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.5× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 1.4× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Leela is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Minnesota 56 2.1×
Illinois 92 1.6×
New York 151 1.6×
California 320 1.5×
Massachusetts 40 1.4×

Leela in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Leela ranked #719 in 2025 on 51 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Leela comes from

English Wiktionary: given name from Sanskrit.

See how Sanskrit names are used in American and British births on the Sanskrit names page.

Notable people named Leela

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Leela Chitnis Indian actress 1909–2003 22
Leela Majumdar Indian author of children's books 1908–2007 16
Leela Naidu Indian actress 1940–2009 16
Leela Roy Indian independence activist and politician 1900–1970 16
Leela James American musician 1983 13
Leela Gandhi Indian-born literary and cultural theorist 1966 13
Leela Samson Indian choreographer 1951 12
Leela Omchery Indian singer 1929–2023 12
Photo credits (7)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Leela

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/leela.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).