Leila (name)

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Leila (Arabic: لَيْلَى, Hebrew: לילה, Syriac: ܠܹܠܝܵܐ), also spelt Layla, is a feminine given name of Arabic origin. It is popular in the Middle East, including Arabic-speaking countries, Iran, Turkey, and Palestine, as well as the Nordic countries, India and the Anglosphere. In the Latin alphabet, the name is commonly spelled in multiple ways, including Leila, Layla, Laylah, Laila, Leyla, and Leylah. Laila comes from the Arabic word layl (لَيْل), which means "night", or "dark". The story of Qays and Layla or Layla and Majnun is based on the romantic poems of Qais Ibn Al-Mulawwah (Arabic: قيس بن الملوح) in 7th century Arabia, who was nicknamed Majnoon Layla (مجنون ليلى), Arabic for "madly in love with Layla", referring to his cousin Layla Al-Amiriah (ليلى العامرية). His poems are considered the paragon of unrequited chaste love. They later became a popular romance in medieval Iran, and use of the name spread accordingly. The name gained popularity further afield in the Persianate world such...

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