Names That Mean Night
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About this list
The names
Layla
Variation of Leila, Arabic
"night"
A lovely musical name (remember the old Eric Clapton-Derek & the Dominos song?), Layla's seen a significant surge in popularity, partly partly all names with a double L are stylish, and partly…
Lyla
Spelling variation of Lila, Arabic
"night"
The Lyla spelling variation has now superseded the original Lila — the former remains on the rise while the latter is consistently falling in popularity. Celebrity couple Katherine Schwarzenegger and…
Lilah
Variation of Lila, Arabic, English
"night"
Lilah may be a simple spelling variation of Lila— itself an alternative form of the Arabic Leila — or you might think of it as a shortening of Delilah or an Anglicization of the Hebrew Lilach, which…
Amaya
Spanish version of Amaia or Japanese
"mother city; the end; night rain"
The Spanish form of Amaya is both a given name and a surname, originating from the Spanish mountain and village of Amaya. In this context it means "mother city" or "the capital." Amaya can also be…
Lila
Arabic, Sanskrit
"night; play"
Lila is one of the girl names with a double l sound — Lila, Lola, Layla, Leila, Lily et al — that have caught on in a major way., Delicate yet dynamic, Lila has a slightly international flair. The…
Leila
Arabic
"night"
Leila was popularized in the West by the poet Byron, who used it in his poem Don Juan for a ten-year-old Turkish girl. Leila also appears as a fairy in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe .…
Lilith
Assyrian, Sumerian
"ghost, night monster"
Lilith is derived from the Akkadian word lilitu meaning "of the night." In Jewish folklore she is portrayed as Adam's rejected first wife, who was turned into a night demon for refusing to obey him.…
Samara
Hebrew, Arabic
"under God's rule, companion in night conversation"
Alluring and lovely — and much more distinctive now than Samantha or Tamara. Samara is a city in western Russia, a winged seed like the whirlygigs that fall from maple trees, as well as a bona fide…
Amiyah
American variation of Amaya and Amaia, Spanish
"the end"
While this name is a phonetic variant of Amaya and Amaia, its popularity could also stem from its similarity to names such as Aliyah, Amelia, and Amara too. It entered the US Top 1000 back in 2003,…
Sariyah
Arabic
"night traveler, night rain"
Bright and pretty, resembling Aaliyah, Delilah, Amaya and Sarah, Sariyah is a celestial and stylish choice, Sariyah can be a variant of the Mormon 'Sariah' meaning "Yahweh is ruler", or it is an…
Pomare
Tahitian
"night cough"
This royal Tahitian name was borne by four kings and a queen of Tahiti. It was created after a royal baby died of a night cough, perhaps not the happiest meaning.
Lilita
Latvian
"of the night"
Latvian variant of Lilith
Miyako
Japanese
"beautiful night child"
Most common in Japan in the mid-20th century, but to Western ears it doesn't sound dated.
Isra
Arabic
"journey of the night"
Isra is a gender-neutral Arabic name. The name of a chapter of the Quran, it refers to the Prophet's journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.
Otieno
Luo
"born at night"
Otieno is more commonly seen as a surname among the Luo people of Kenya and Eastern Africa. The surname was derived from the given name — Atieno is the feminine version.
Hoku
Hawaiian
"night of the full moon"
A spirited name with major cross-cultural significance. In addition to its celestial meaning in Hawaiian, it means "rhyme" in Finnish and "congratulations" in Japanese.
Sariya
Arabic
"night traveler, night rain"
A pretty Arabic name with an evocative meaning.
Equinox
Latin
"equal night"
A dramatic nature-inspired possibility for either sex.
Māhealani
Hawaiian
"heavenly haze; full moon night"
An intruiging and rare Hawaiian "-lani" name to add to the books if you are looking for an alternative to trendy Leilani and Kehlani.
Nishika
Sanskrit
"night"
Nishika has been used sporadically in the US since 1986. It's related to the Sanskrit name Nisha, which peaked in the US in the 1980s. Both have night-related meanings. The Nishika N8000 is a camera…
