Laia is the Catalan short form of Eulàlia, which comes from Greek and means "well-spoken" or "sweetly speaking". Saint Eulalia is the patron saint of Barcelona, and Laia is one of the most popular girls' names in Catalonia today. In the United States it is still rare: it rose from number 3511 in 2015 to a peak of 1632 in 2022 and stands at number 2182 in 2025 with 85 births.