Leighla is a spelling variant of Layla or Leila, from Arabic, meaning night.
Leighla is a distinctively spelled variant of Layla (or Leila), one of the most storied names in the Arabic literary tradition. The name's root, 'layl,' means 'night' in Arabic, and from its earliest appearances it has carried associations with mystery, beauty, and longing. The great classical Arabic romance of Qays and Layla — in which a poet driven mad by love composes endless verses for a woman he cannot marry — gave the name its enduring romantic gravity.
Persian poets Nizami Ganjavi and Rumi elaborated on the story in the 12th and 13th centuries, cementing Layla as a symbol of unattainable beauty and transcendent love across the Islamic world. The name traveled westward through Moorish Spain and Ottoman cultural exchange, eventually gaining traction in European Romantic literature. It reached global pop consciousness through Eric Clapton's 1970 anthem 'Layla,' written during his own unconsummated longing, and through a succession of chart hits and cultural moments that have kept the name vibrant across decades.
In the United States, Layla consistently ranks among the top 30 girl names in the 2020s. The Leighla spelling — borrowing the Anglo-Irish 'eigh' digraph — gives the name a visual weight that sets it apart from the dozens of other spellings (Layla, Leila, Lela, Lailah) while preserving its sound. It gestures toward English heritage names like Leigh while remaining unmistakably connected to its Arabic soul. Parents who choose Leighla often want their child's name to carry poetic history without looking like anyone else's.