What Does the Name Kayla Mean?

Kayla is a girl's name of English (modern), with Hebrew/Arabic and Yiddish associations origin meaning “modern coinage; often glossed via 'pure' (from Katherine) or 'beloved'.”

Updated June 2026

Name	Kayla
Gender	female
Origin	English (modern), with Hebrew/Arabic and Yiddish associations
Meaning	modern coinage; often glossed via 'pure' (from Katherine) or 'beloved'
Variants	Kaila, Kaylah, Cayla, Kaylee, Keyla
Popularity	Hugely popular in the U.S. in the late 1980s through 1990s, peaking in the top 20; now declining but still recognizable.

The meaning and origin of Kayla

The name Kayla means “modern coinage; often glossed via 'pure' (from Katherine) or 'beloved'” and has English (modern), with Hebrew/Arabic and Yiddish associations origins. Kayla is a 20th-century American name, generally explained as a blend of Kay/Katherine elements with the popular '-la' ending, or as a respelling of the Yiddish name Kaila. Its rise was strongly boosted by a character on the soap opera 'Days of Our Lives' in the 1980s.

Variants and related names

Kayla is related to several other names you may recognize: Kaila, Kaylah, Cayla, Kaylee, Keyla. These share a common root or are spelling and language variants of the same name.

How popular is the name Kayla?

Hugely popular in the U.S. in the late 1980s through 1990s, peaking in the top 20; now declining but still recognizable.

Popularity matters when you need believable test data: a name that fits the era or region you are modeling makes a generated profile look real. You can generate a complete fictional profile using the name Kayla below.

Generate a fake Kayla profile

Need a complete fictional identity using the name Kayla? Generate a full profile — address, phone, email and more — for testing and privacy.