NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Mayla

Of Middle Eastern origin meaning "queen" or "exceptional one".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Mayla is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Mayla popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1353, with 24 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 24 births.

This profile covers 134 England and Wales registrations across 15 recorded years from 2007 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

Mayla is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.

We estimate that about 140 living people in the UK are called Mayla. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Mayla ranked #1353 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 24 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2024, when 24 girls were registered as Mayla.
  • Mayla ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #328 in 2023.
  • About 140 living people in the UK are estimated to have Mayla as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1353

2024

Births in 2024

24

Latest year

Peak year

2024

24 births

Estimated living

140

2026

Meaning

What does Mayla mean?

The name Mayla is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "mala," meaning "garland" or "wreath," often used as a symbol of purity, beauty, and spiritual devotion.

In ancient Indian texts and religious scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Puranas, there are references to celestial beings and deities adorned with garlands of flowers, which may have inspired the name Mayla. The name was particularly popular among the Hindu communities of the Indian subcontinent during the classical period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mayla can be found in the ancient Tamil epic "Silappadikaram," written around the 5th century CE. The epic mentions a character named Mayla, a beautiful and virtuous woman who lived in the city of Puhar, an important trading port in the ancient Tamil kingdom.

Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Mayla. In the 7th century CE, Mayla Nayaki was a renowned Kannada poet and scholar from the Western Ganga Dynasty of present-day Karnataka, India. Her works, such as "Nalacharita," are considered literary masterpieces in the Kannada language.

During the 14th century, Mayla Devi was a powerful queen consort of the Bahmani Sultanate, a medieval Islamic kingdom in the Deccan region of India. She is credited with influencing the cultural and architectural development of the Bahmani capital, Bidar.

In the 16th century, Mayla Bai was a prominent courtesan and poet in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Her poetry, which often celebrated love and spirituality, earned her great acclaim during her lifetime.

Another notable figure was Mayla Rachamalla, a 17th-century Telugu poet and composer from the Nayak kingdom of Madurai in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. Her literary works, including the celebrated "Varahanamatya Kavya," have been widely studied and appreciated for their poetic mastery.

While the name Mayla has its roots in ancient India, it has also been adopted and adapted in various cultures around the world, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation. The name continues to be popular, particularly in certain regions of South Asia and among diaspora communities, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and symbolism.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Mayla over time

The chart below shows babies named Mayla registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2007 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Mayla, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 24 births in 2024, compared with 24 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Mayla
06121824200720152024

Decades

Mayla by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Mayla was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #1992 78 5
2010s #3989 53 9
2000s #5201 3 1

Geography

Where Mayla is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Mayla. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Mayla ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #328 in 2023.

Northern Ireland
4

Across the UK

Mayla in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#328 in 2023

2 years of NISRA records, 7 total registered

Related

Names similar to Mayla

FAQ

Mayla: questions and answers

How popular is the name Mayla in the UK right now?

In 2024, Mayla was ranked #1353 for girls in England and Wales, with 24 births registered.

When was Mayla most popular?

The peak year on record was 2024, with 24 babies registered as Mayla in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Mayla?

Of Middle Eastern origin meaning "queen" or "exceptional one".

How many people are called Mayla in the UK?

A total of 134 babies have been registered as Mayla across the 15 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here and 7 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Mayla most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Mayla ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #328 in 2023. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.