Isla is the Scottish Gaelic word for "island," and the name of an island in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland — known internationally for its whisky distilleries. As a given name, Isla is a relatively recent development, popular in Scotland from the late nineteenth century and spreading outward.
Its current popularity is driven by the silent-S spelling: parents love that it looks unusual but reads as a familiar EYE-lah sound. It overtook competing spellings (Ayla, Isley, Ila) in the 2010s and entered the U.S. top 50.
A clean two-syllable name, geographically rooted, with a meaning everyone can picture.
Isla reduces to three in Pythagorean numerology — the number of expression, sociability, and warmth.