Lailah

Lailah is a more elaborate version of Laila which was likely inspired by Layla (Leila). Ultimately Arabic in origin, “leila/laylah” means “night.” Arabs would use this name for their daughters in the convention of describing the quality or character of the baby; as such it has come to mean “dark beauty” or “one who was born at night.” The name has been in use since medieval times inspired by the true Arabian legend of “Qays and Layla” – a story of unrequited love. These young virgin lovers fell so deeply in love that they were barely able to contain their devotion. Causing quite the scandal in their community, Quys was instantly denied Layla’s hand in marriage and kept from seeing her. As a result, he fled the tribe, wandered in the wilderness chanting love poems about his darling Layla, and eventually descended into madness before finally succumbing to death. Originally an Arab/Muslim name, Leila (and its variants such as Layla and Laila) has acquired currency in both the English-speaking world and the Nordic nations in particular. It is more commonly thought of as an internationally adopted name at this point as evidenced by the growing number of spelling variations: Layla, Laila, Laylah and Lailah for instance. The variant of Leila is perhaps the oldest in the English-speaking world, introduced by Lord Byron in the early 19th century as a character in his poems “The Giaour” (1813) and “Don Juan” (1819). In some Hebrew translations, Lailah is an angel of night appointed to assist Abraham (also sharing her name with the Hebrew word for night, לילה). In other Jewish folklore, Lailah is the opposite of Lilith (the “night owl”); Lailah selects the newborn souls of babies from the Garden of Eden and delivers them into the womb of mothers. Just before they are born, she strikes the baby’s upper lip (philtrum) in order to erase all memory of creation. A maternal symbol, Lailah watches over the souls as a guardian angel.