Baby Names US
boys' name ★ peaked 1921

Leonard

Meaning lion Gender Boy Rank 2025 #637 Trend → Stable

From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”).

Rank 2025
#637
among boys · ↑34 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
438
named Leonard · +7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,900
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1921
5,675 babies
All-time total
295,746
#124 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Leonard popularity over time

295,746 babies have been named Leonard 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
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 2,144 2,144 214 – #72
1890s 7 3,166 3,173 317 +48% #53
1900s 18 5,022 5,040 504 +59% #46
1910s 147 31,878 32,025 3,203 +535% #39
1920s 318 53,793 54,111 5,411 +69% #37
1930s 207 39,214 39,421 3,942 -27% #45
1940s 152 44,289 44,441 4,444 +13% #54
1950s 179 43,551 43,730 4,373 -2% #77
1960s 165 28,441 28,606 2,861 -35% #113
1970s 128 15,805 15,933 1,593 -44% #144
1980s 91 10,467 10,558 1,056 -34% #193
1990s – 6,267 6,267 627 -41% #293
2000s – 3,918 3,918 392 -37% #508
2010s – 3,933 3,933 393 0% #599
2020s (to 2025) – 2,446 2,446 408 +4% #635

Where Leonard is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 439 0.26 outside top 500
2027 440 0.26 outside top 500
2028 440 0.26 outside top 500
2029 441 0.26 outside top 500
2030 441 0.26 outside top 500

Where Leonard is most popular

Boys named Leonard per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.234 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Montana.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Leonard 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 69 0.562 +140%
Wisconsin 55 0.464 +98%
Montana 7 0.397 +69%
Iowa 26 0.377 +61%
Illinois 92 0.360 +54%
Michigan 72 0.352 +50%
Colorado 45 0.349 +49%
Washington 56 0.342 +46%
Massachusetts 46 0.335 +43%
Connecticut 22 0.325 +39%
South Dakota 6 0.322 +38%
Ohio 85 0.321 +37%
New York 138 0.319 +36%
Louisiana 31 0.303 +29%
Kentucky 30 0.299 +28%
New Jersey 60 0.298 +27%
Alabama 32 0.293 +25%
Pennsylvania 74 0.279 +19%
Oregon 21 0.277 +18%
Maine 5 0.258 +10%
California 231 0.253 +8%
Missouri 35 0.253 +8%
Florida 114 0.241 ≈ national
Indiana 38 0.237 ≈ national
Kansas 16 0.233 ≈ national
Virginia 42 0.221 -6%
Maryland 26 0.218 -7%
Arizona 32 0.196 -17%
Georgia 47 0.186 -21%
Nevada 10 0.175 -25%
North Carolina 44 0.172 -27%
New Mexico 5 0.152 -35%
Texas 132 0.150 -36%
Utah 11 0.115 -51%
Nebraska 5 0.115 -51%
Tennessee 20 0.111 -53%
South Carolina 8 0.077 -67%
Oklahoma 5 0.057 -76%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
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 Leonard

Leonard is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #637 in 2025 with 438 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 295,746 American babies have been named Leonard. Its peak came in 1921, when 5,675 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

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

How old are people named Leonard?

The median living Leonard is about 65 years old; half are between 50 and 75. An estimated 126 thousand people named Leonard are alive in the United States today.

median 65 020406080100

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

Leonard 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 – – 438 #637
2024 – – 409 #671
2023 – – 384 #693
2022 – – 373 #707
2021 – – 421 #650
2020 – – 421 #635
2019 – – 443 #616
2018 – – 417 #636
2017 – – 437 #605
2016 – – 450 #599
2015 – – 400 #651
2014 – – 385 #666
2013 – – 349 #686
2012 – – 338 #703
2011 – – 326 #704
2010 – – 388 #626
2009 – – 323 #727
2008 – – 400 #620
2007 – – 356 #672
2006 – – 384 #619
2005 – – 385 #588
2004 – – 385 #579
2003 – – 402 #559
2002 – – 396 #563
2001 – – 436 #517
2000 – – 451 #508
1995 – – 528 #433
1990 – – 863 #293
1985 12 #5,874 955 #243
1980 13 #5,410 1,277 #193
1975 23 #3,110 1,431 #166
1970 7 #6,725 2,298 #144
1965 10 #4,362 2,712 #121
1960 19 #2,868 3,639 #113
1955 13 #3,307 4,260 #88
1950 19 #2,302 4,581 #77
1945 6 #4,305 4,125 #57
1940 28 #1,454 3,817 #54
1935 22 #1,632 3,804 #54
1930 31 #1,390 4,662 #45
1925 35 #1,359 5,465 #38
1920 32 #1,424 5,511 #38
1915 11 #2,622 3,993 #44
1910 10 #1,577 793 #46
1905 – – 495 #47
1900 – – 465 #54
1895 – – 342 #61
1890 – – 275 #67
1885 – – 204 #80
1880 – – 200 #78

Famous people named Leonard

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

  1. 1 Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (1934–2016) Contemporary
  2. 2 Leonard Nimoy Leonard Nimoy American actor (1931–2015) Contemporary
  3. 3 Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein American conductor and composer (1918–1990) Contemporary
  4. 4 Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier Native American activist (born 1944) Contemporary
  5. 5 Leonard Whiting Leonard Whiting British actor (born 1950) Contemporary
  6. 6 Leonard Susskind Leonard Susskind American theoretical physicist (born 1940) Contemporary
  7. 7 Leonard Wood Leonard Wood 5th Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1860–1927 · 19th century
  8. 8 Leonard Woolf Leonard Woolf British author and publisher (1880–1969) 19th century
  9. 9 Leonard Roberts Leonard Roberts American actor b. 1972 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Leonard Maltin Leonard Maltin American film critic and film historian (born 1950) Contemporary
  11. 11 Leonard Chess Polish-American record executive (1917–1969) Contemporary
  12. 12 Leonard Frey Leonard Frey American actor (1938–1988) Contemporary
  13. 13 Leonard Woolley Leonard Woolley British archaeologist (1880–1960) 19th century
  14. 14 Leonard Howell Leonard Howell Jamaican Rastafari preacher (1898–1981) 19th century
  15. 15 Leonard Peikoff Leonard Peikoff Canadian-American philosopher (born 1933) Contemporary
  16. 16 Leonard Adleman Leonard Adleman American computer scientist (born 1945) Contemporary
  17. 17 Leonard Slatkin Leonard Slatkin American conductor, author and composer (born 1944) Contemporary
  18. 18 Leonard Kleinrock Leonard Kleinrock American computer scientist (born 1934) Contemporary
  19. 19 Leonard Rosenman Leonard Rosenman American composer (1924 – 2008) Contemporary
  20. 20 Leonard of Noblac Leonard of Noblac Frankish saint 496–545 · Antiquity

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Leonard?

The median living Leonard is about 65 years old. Half of all living Leonards are between 50 and 75 years old.

How many people named Leonard are alive today?

An estimated 126 thousand people named Leonard are alive in the United States, based on 295,746 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leonard mean?

From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”).

How popular is the name Leonard in 2025?

Leonard ranked #637 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 438 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leonard?

295,746 babies have been named Leonard in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leonard most popular?

Leonard peaked in 1921, when 5,675 newborns received the name.

Is Leonard a boy or girl name?

Leonard is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Leonard rising or falling?

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

Will Leonard become more popular?

Leonard looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 441 boys named Leonard in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Leonard?

Well-known people named Leonard include Leonard Cohen (musician), Leonard Nimoy (actor), Leonard Bernstein (composer).

Names like Leonard

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

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