girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Leona

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #429 Trend → Stable

A female given name from Latin, a feminine form of Leo through Leon.

Rank 2025
#429
among girls · ↑58 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
723
named Leona · +15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,223
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
3,346 babies
All-time total
113,624
#340 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Leona popularity over time

113,624 babies have been named Leona 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 2,151 – 2,151 215 – #109
1890s 5,083 – 5,083 508 +136% #84
1900s 9,848 31 9,879 988 +94% #69
1910s 23,825 72 23,897 2,390 +142% #74
1920s 26,031 102 26,133 2,613 +9% #89
1930s 14,173 70 14,243 1,424 -45% #130
1940s 9,028 19 9,047 905 -36% #183
1950s 5,641 – 5,641 564 -38% #298
1960s 3,695 – 3,695 370 -34% #449
1970s 2,024 – 2,024 202 -45% #609
1980s 1,355 – 1,355 136 -33% #904
1990s 935 – 935 94 -31% #1,415
2000s 1,487 – 1,487 149 +59% #971
2010s 4,297 – 4,297 430 +189% #508
2020s (to 2025) 3,757 – 3,757 626 +46% #429

Where Leona 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 735 0.46 #424
2027 745 0.46 #421
2028 754 0.47 #414
2029 762 0.47 #410
2030 768 0.48 #406

Where Leona is most popular

Girls named Leona per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.385 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington.

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 Leona 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
Minnesota 110 1.02 +165%
Wisconsin 97 0.942 +145%
Washington 127 0.879 +128%
Oregon 55 0.845 +119%
Iowa 46 0.787 +105%
Pennsylvania 168 0.711 +85%
Idaho 23 0.687 +79%
Michigan 122 0.670 +74%
Colorado 73 0.654 +70%
Montana 8 0.591 +54%
Ohio 140 0.590 +53%
Oklahoma 43 0.584 +52%
Alaska 5 0.581 +51%
Massachusetts 70 0.579 +50%
Indiana 78 0.556 +44%
Kansas 32 0.555 +44%
Maryland 56 0.528 +37%
Missouri 61 0.506 +31%
Virginia 86 0.505 +31%
New York 179 0.452 +17%
Illinois 103 0.450 +17%
California 374 0.445 +16%
North Carolina 91 0.400 ≈ national
Connecticut 23 0.395 ≈ national
South Carolina 34 0.378 ≈ national
Tennessee 59 0.372 ≈ national
Arizona 51 0.363 -6%
Utah 29 0.348 -9%
Nevada 16 0.344 -11%
New Jersey 62 0.343 -11%
Florida 143 0.334 -13%
Kentucky 28 0.327 -15%
New Hampshire 6 0.325 -16%
Georgia 62 0.273 -29%
Texas 214 0.266 -31%
Nebraska 7 0.195 -49%
Louisiana 10 0.114 -70%
Alabama 8 0.085 -78%
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Leona

Leona is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #429 in 2025 with 723 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 113,624 American babies have been named Leona. Its peak came in 1918, when 3,346 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

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 Leona stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Leona?

The median living Leona is about 63 years old; half are between 15 and 80. An estimated 32 thousand people named Leona are alive in the United States today.

median 63 020406080100

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

Leona 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 723 #429 – –
2024 629 #487 – –
2023 586 #521 – –
2022 585 #531 – –
2021 600 #515 – –
2020 634 #484 – –
2019 616 #510 – –
2018 611 #508 – –
2017 565 #547 – –
2016 507 #596 – –
2015 419 #682 – –
2014 379 #739 – –
2013 374 #731 – –
2012 287 #912 – –
2011 283 #920 – –
2010 256 #990 – –
2009 274 #971 – –
2008 237 #1,098 – –
2007 152 #1,522 – –
2006 144 #1,528 – –
2005 139 #1,503 – –
2004 134 #1,509 – –
2003 104 #1,810 – –
2002 105 #1,740 – –
2001 90 #1,932 – –
2000 108 #1,639 – –
1995 90 #1,645 – –
1990 104 #1,497 – –
1985 135 #1,078 – –
1980 167 #904 – –
1975 191 #751 – –
1970 285 #609 – –
1965 348 #508 – –
1960 461 #455 – –
1955 508 #389 – –
1950 681 #298 – –
1945 843 #227 – –
1940 1,028 #183 7 #3,021
1935 1,308 #155 8 #2,841
1930 1,872 #130 8 #3,169
1925 2,515 #108 11 #2,681
1920 3,166 #89 16 #2,100
1915 2,972 #74 – –
1910 1,220 #79 13 #907
1905 1,082 #69 – –
1900 825 #85 – –
1895 520 #102 – –
1890 332 #120 – –
1885 231 #115 – –
1880 137 #119 – –

Famous people named Leona

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

  1. 1 Leona Lewis Leona Lewis British singer (born 1985) Contemporary
  2. 2 Leona Woods Leona Woods American nuclear physicist (1919–1986) Contemporary
  3. 3 Leona Paraminski Croatian actress (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Leona?

The median living Leona is about 63 years old. Half of all living Leonas are between 15 and 80 years old.

How many people named Leona are alive today?

An estimated 32 thousand people named Leona are alive in the United States, based on 113,624 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leona mean?

A female given name from Latin, a feminine form of Leo through Leon.

How popular is the name Leona in 2025?

Leona ranked #429 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 723 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leona?

113,624 babies have been named Leona in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leona most popular?

Leona peaked in 1918, when 3,346 newborns received the name.

Is Leona a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Leona rising or falling?

Leona is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Leona become more popular?

Leona looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 768 girls named Leona in 2030, ranking around #406. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Leona?

Well-known people named Leona include Leona Lewis (singer), Leona Woods (physicist), Leona Paraminski (actor).

Names like Leona

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

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