♀ Female◎ Hindi / Indian / Kannada / Malayalam / Sanskrit / Tamil / Telugu / Nepali◈ 2 syllables
"Play"
From Hindi / Indian / Kannada / Malayalam / Sanskrit / Tamil / Telugu / Nepali
Leela means divine play or cosmic dance — from the Sanskrit lila. In Hindu philosophy, lila is God's playful creation of the universe — the idea that existence itself is divine play. Doctor Who's Leela is one of the most fierce companions. Futurama's Leela is animation's most capable captain. Two syllables of cosmic-play philosophy, the Doctor's fiercest companion, and the cyclops who captains the Planet Express.
Hindi / Indian / Kannada / Malayalam / Sanskrit / Tamil / Telugu / Nepali roots
Leela comes from the Sanskrit lila meaning divine play — God's playful creation of the universe. Doctor Who's Leela is fiercely brave. Futurama's Leela captains the Planet Express.
2
First recorded
Earliest known use: Sanskrit; Doctor Who (1977); Futurama (1999).
3
Today
Leela remains a beloved choice, ranking #1223 in the US. 4,369 babies have been named Leela since 1898.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
◆
How popular is Leela?
2016peak year
The name Leela reached its peak in 2016, with 232 registrations (ranked #1106). The name has actually been around since 1898 — over a century — though it took until recently to find its widest audience. Since the peak, the name has eased to well outside the top 1,000 (around #1223) today, averaging about 196 new babies per year. Leela's usage has held roughly steady recently. Across all years on record, approximately 4,369 American babies have carried this name.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Leela's Life Path 7 is the seeker's number — divine-play seeking. People named Leela tend to be fierce, philosophical, and gifted at being God's playful creation in two syllables.
♡
God's playful creation
✦
Doctor-Who fierce
◈
Futurama-captain
◎
Sanskrit-cosmic
♡
Divine-dance
L3
E5
E5
L3
A1
Sum: 17 → Life path 8
♡
Personality of Leela
💼
Built for success
They don't dream of achievement — they plan for it.
👑
Commanding presence
They walk in and people notice.
🔑
Strategic mind
Always three moves ahead.
💎
Unbreakable
Setbacks sharpen them. Resilience is in their DNA.
Every name has a homeland. Discover beautiful girl names rooted in cultures from around the world — each with full meanings, origin stories and pronunciation.