Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1924

Leonora

Meaning From the Italian short form of Eleonora, cognate to Eleanor Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,772 Trend ↑ Rising 74%

From the Italian short form of Eleonora, cognate to Eleanor.

Rank 2025
#1,772
among girls · ↑318 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
114
named Leonora · +24% vs 2024
How common
1 in 14,099
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1924
138 babies
All-time total
7,504
#1,978 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Leonora popularity over time

7,504 babies have been named Leonora 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
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1880Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s 252 25 – #314
1890s 373 37 +48% #411
1900s 336 34 -10% #516
1910s 916 92 +173% #509
1920s 1,262 126 +38% #610
1930s 718 72 -43% #721
1940s 607 61 -15% #853
1950s 610 61 0% #1,096
1960s 513 51 -16% #1,422
1970s 360 36 -30% #1,815
1980s 230 23 -36% #2,913
1990s 151 15 -34% #4,450
2000s 228 23 +51% #4,435
2010s 426 43 +87% #2,719
2020s (to 2025) 522 87 +104% #1,772

Where Leonora 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 125 0.08 outside top 500
2027 135 0.08 outside top 500
2028 144 0.09 outside top 500
2029 152 0.09 outside top 500
2030 159 0.10 outside top 500

Where Leonora is most popular

Girls named Leonora per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.056 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, Virginia, and California.

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 Leonora 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 York 58 0.146 +159%
Virginia 13 0.076 +35%
California 55 0.065 +16%
Illinois 12 0.052 -7%
Texas 41 0.051 -10%
Massachusetts 6 0.050 -12%
New Jersey 6 0.033 -41%
Pennsylvania 6 0.025 -55%
Florida 10 0.023 -59%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Leonora

Leonora is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,772 in 2025 with 114 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 7,504 American babies have been named Leonora. Its peak came in 1924, when 138 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 Leonora stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Leonora?

The median living Leonora is about 52 years old; half are between 13 and 70. An estimated 3,500 people named Leonora are alive in the United States today.

median 52 020406080100

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

Leonora year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 114 #1,772
2024 92 #2,090
2023 105 #1,899
2022 73 #2,482
2021 74 #2,432
2020 64 #2,647
2019 63 #2,719
2018 56 #2,951
2017 46 #3,422
2016 52 #3,167
2015 47 #3,417
2014 52 #3,167
2013 27 #5,083
2012 29 #4,917
2011 27 #5,144
2010 27 #5,189
2009 31 #4,757
2008 14 #8,778
2007 28 #5,174
2006 29 #4,899
2005 31 #4,435
2004 21 #5,872
2003 21 #5,709
2002 16 #6,900
2001 16 #6,831
2000 21 #5,413
1995 11 #7,835
1990 22 #4,450
1985 26 #3,374
1980 31 #2,913
1975 25 #2,925
1970 48 #1,848
1965 35 #1,971
1960 60 #1,422
1955 67 #1,238
1950 71 #1,096
1945 45 #1,181
1940 68 #865
1935 58 #907
1930 85 #766
1925 136 #628
1920 118 #667
1915 110 #626
1910 49 #597
1905 25 #721
1900 40 #535
1895 41 #446
1890 37 #420
1885 27 #398
1880 26 #314

Famous people named Leonora

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

  1. 1 Leonora Carrington Leonora Carrington British and Mexican artist, surrealist painter and novelist (1917–2011) Contemporary
  2. 2 Leonora Christina Ulfeldt Leonora Christina Ulfeldt Danish noble and writer (1621–1698) 17th century
  3. 3 Leonora Leonora Danish singer and figure skater b. 1998 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Leonora?

The median living Leonora is about 52 years old. Half of all living Leonoras are between 13 and 70 years old.

How many people named Leonora are alive today?

An estimated 3,500 people named Leonora are alive in the United States, based on 7,504 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Leonora mean?

From the Italian short form of Eleonora, cognate to Eleanor.

How popular is the name Leonora in 2025?

Leonora ranked #1,772 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 114 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Leonora?

7,504 babies have been named Leonora in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Leonora most popular?

Leonora peaked in 1924, when 138 newborns received the name.

Is Leonora a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Leonora rising or falling?

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

Will Leonora become more popular?

Leonora is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 159 girls named Leonora in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Leonora?

Well-known people named Leonora include Leonora Carrington (painter), Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (writer), Leonora (singer).

Names like Leonora

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

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