Leila

Leila is the root name for a lush garden of similarly exotic examples. It was popularized by the poet Byron, who used it in his poem Don Juan for a 10-year-old Turkish girl, and also appears in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe.

The haunting Leila been chosen by such celebs as Al Roker and Greta Scacchi. While Leila has managed to appear on the Top 1000 list in the US since its inception in 1880, phonetic form Layla is now higher on the list. And parents attracted to girls' names with the double l sound will find that most examples -- from Leila to Lila to Lily and Lillian -- are zooming up the charts and, while classics, are bordering on trendiness.