How Many People Are Named Leela?
An estimated 4,273 people in the United States have the first name Leela. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 15 years old, and Leela peaked in popularity in 2016 with 232 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Leela as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Leela paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Leela is a modern name. With an average bearer age of just 15, it has gained most of its popularity in recent years.
Estimated Living Americans
4,273
About 1 in 80,214 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
15
years old
Peak Year
2016
232 births
Total Registered
4,369
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Leela
Leela is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 4,369 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Leela as a female name
Ranked #1,257 in 2024
185 female births in 2024
Peak: 2016 (232 births)
Leela: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Leela span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 2,033 babies were registered. While Leela is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Leela by Decade
How has Leela tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Leela by State
Birth registrations for Leela span all 27 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in South Carolina, District of Columbia, Alabama. On average, about 96 Leelas were registered per state.
Leela + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Leela as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Leela
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Leela: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leela?
We estimate approximately 4,273 people named Leela are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 80,214 Americans share this first name.
Is Leela a common name?
Leela is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,369 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Leela most popular?
Leela reached peak popularity in 2016, when 232 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Leela is approximately 15 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Leela a female name?
Leela is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Leela Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Leela Smith, Leela Johnson, Leela Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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