Keila goes back to Keilah, a town in the hill country of Judah mentioned in the Bible, whose name is usually explained as "citadel" or "fortress"; in modern use it also works as a Spanish spelling of Kayla. The name is popular in Puerto Rico and Mexico, which brought it to the US mainland. Keila entered the US top 1000 at number 991 in 2001, slipped out again and ranks number 1551 in 2025.