girls' name ★ peaked 2009

Leah

Meaning A female given name from Hebrew Gender Girl Rank 2025 #58 Trend ↓ Falling 15%

A female given name from Hebrew.

Rank 2025
#58
among girls · ↓5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,880
named Leah · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 414
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2009
6,799 babies
All-time total
256,954
#161 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Leah popularity over time

256,954 babies have been named Leah since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 809 – 809 81 – #198
1890s 1,671 – 1,671 167 +107% #184
1900s 1,747 – 1,747 175 +5% #211
1910s 4,253 – 4,253 425 +143% #246
1920s 4,453 – 4,453 445 +5% #286
1930s 3,539 – 3,539 354 -21% #307
1940s 3,495 – 3,495 350 -1% #334
1950s 5,960 – 5,960 596 +71% #335
1960s 12,743 32 12,775 1,278 +114% #195
1970s 21,145 76 21,221 2,122 +66% #98
1980s 36,056 154 36,210 3,621 +71% #78
1990s 34,099 39 34,138 3,414 -6% #82
2000s 45,430 80 45,510 4,551 +33% #29
2010s 56,044 69 56,113 5,611 +23% #24
2020s (to 2025) 25,044 16 25,060 4,177 -26% #45

Where Leah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 3,780 2.35 #61
2027 3,696 2.30 #63
2028 3,627 2.26 #63
2029 3,569 2.22 #64
2030 3,520 2.19 #67

Where Leah is most popular

Girls named Leah per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.53 per 1,000. Strongest in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Leah born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Jersey 1,303 7.22 +185%
New York 2,668 6.74 +166%
Delaware 54 4.76 +88%
Rhode Island 58 4.63 +83%
District of Columbia 46 3.88 +53%
New Mexico 93 3.82 +51%
Connecticut 214 3.68 +45%
Florida 1,560 3.65 +44%
Maryland 382 3.60 +43%
Nevada 159 3.42 +35%
Montana 43 3.18 +26%
California 2,656 3.16 +25%
Texas 2,504 3.11 +23%
Massachusetts 369 3.05 +21%
Arizona 426 3.04 +20%
Kansas 173 3.00 +19%
Nebraska 107 2.98 +18%
South Dakota 42 2.94 +16%
Illinois 646 2.82 +12%
New Hampshire 52 2.82 +11%
Iowa 164 2.81 +11%
Pennsylvania 661 2.80 +11%
Virginia 466 2.73 +8%
Utah 221 2.66 +5%
North Dakota 34 2.59 ≈ national
Oregon 167 2.56 ≈ national
Alaska 22 2.56 ≈ national
Louisiana 218 2.49 ≈ national
West Virginia 65 2.48 ≈ national
Colorado 276 2.47 ≈ national
Indiana 333 2.37 -6%
North Carolina 538 2.36 -7%
Idaho 79 2.36 -7%
Washington 337 2.33 -8%
Ohio 546 2.30 -9%
Missouri 277 2.30 -9%
Arkansas 120 2.27 -10%
Hawaii 26 2.27 -10%
Michigan 406 2.23 -12%
Wisconsin 228 2.21 -12%
Kentucky 178 2.08 -18%
Maine 32 2.07 -18%
Georgia 465 2.05 -19%
Minnesota 218 2.02 -20%
Tennessee 301 1.90 -25%
Oklahoma 136 1.85 -27%
South Carolina 156 1.74 -31%
Alabama 161 1.71 -32%
Mississippi 80 1.71 -32%
Vermont 6 1.24 -51%
Wyoming 5 1.17 -54%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Leah

Leah is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #58 in 2025 with 3,880 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 256,954 American babies have been named Leah. Its peak came in 2009, when 6,799 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Leah stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Leah?

The median living Leah is about 23 years old; half are between 12 and 40. An estimated 235 thousand people named Leah are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Leah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 3,880 #58 – –
2024 3,988 #53 – –
2023 3,976 #53 – –
2022 4,196 #52 6 #11,715
2021 4,474 #46 – –
2020 4,530 #45 10 #7,851
2019 4,780 #43 9 #8,606
2018 5,038 #41 9 #8,557
2017 5,202 #40 9 #8,550
2016 5,434 #37 6 #11,583
2015 5,636 #36 – –
2014 5,610 #35 8 #9,279
2013 5,618 #32 5 #13,268
2012 5,781 #33 5 #13,410
2011 6,400 #29 10 #7,850
2010 6,545 #24 8 #9,328
2009 6,790 #29 9 #8,725
2008 5,634 #40 11 #7,510
2007 4,555 #67 – –
2006 4,657 #68 8 #9,236
2005 4,601 #68 14 #5,761
2004 4,744 #64 15 #5,393
2003 3,925 #81 5 #12,003
2002 3,604 #87 5 #11,751
2001 3,521 #87 7 #8,853
2000 3,399 #97 6 #9,820
1995 3,274 #103 5 #9,716
1990 3,924 #82 9 #5,634
1985 3,572 #78 18 #2,782
1980 3,642 #84 16 #2,909
1975 2,117 #132 9 #3,812
1970 1,672 #192 9 #3,423
1965 1,385 #228 – –
1960 773 #342 – –
1955 592 #356 – –
1950 442 #385 – –
1945 285 #421 – –
1940 365 #334 – –
1935 362 #334 – –
1930 326 #376 – –
1925 444 #316 – –
1920 523 #286 – –
1915 552 #252 – –
1910 207 #269 – –
1905 168 #248 – –
1900 166 #252 – –
1895 203 #192 – –
1890 162 #184 – –
1885 85 #214 – –
1880 54 #210 – –

Famous people named Leah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Leah Remini Leah Remini American actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  2. 2 Leah Pipes Leah Pipes American actress (born 1988) Contemporary
  3. 3 Leah Dizon Leah Dizon American singer and model (1986) Contemporary
  4. 4 Leah Goldberg Leah Goldberg Israeli poet (1911–1970) Contemporary
  5. 5 Leah Smith Leah Smith American swimmer (born 1995) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Leah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Leah?

The median living Leah is about 23 years old. Half of all living Leahs are between 12 and 40 years old.

How many people named Leah are alive today?

An estimated 235 thousand people named Leah are alive in the United States, based on 256,954 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leah mean?

A female given name from Hebrew.

How popular is the name Leah in 2025?

Leah ranked #58 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,880 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leah?

256,954 babies have been named Leah in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leah most popular?

Leah peaked in 2009, when 6,799 newborns received the name.

Is Leah a boy or girl name?

Leah is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Leah rising or falling?

Leah is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Leah become more popular?

Leah is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,520 girls named Leah in 2030, which would rank around #67. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Leah?

Well-known people named Leah include Leah Remini (actor), Leah Pipes (actor), Leah Dizon (singer).

Names like Leah

Names that sound and feel close to Leah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Leah with similar names → More names starting with L →