ninan.org

Lee

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~168,500 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#725 among boys
Births in 2025
387 295,926 since 1880
Typical age
60 years, median

Lee popularity over time

Lee rank by birth year, 1880–2025Lee ranked #43 in 1880 and #725 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #39, in 1900.#100#1,000#725best #39 in 190018901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Lee was used most in 1956, when 5,448 babies were given the name. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 76 years put Lee in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #725, with 387 births that year.

Babies named Lee per yearPeaks at 5,448 births in 1956.5,448 in 1956018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Lee?

An estimated 168,500 living Americans are called Lee. SSA has recorded 295,926 births under the name since 1880. The split is about 40,900 women and 127,500 men.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Lee?

The typical living Lee is 60 years old. The 1960s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Lee a mid-century perennial name.

Your Lee

Ages of living people named LeeHalf of living Lees are older than 60 and half younger.median 60020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Lee is most common

Relative to births, Iowa carries 2.4× the national share of Lees. Louisiana, Mississippi and Pennsylvania follow.

Where Lee is used more than average5 states use the name Lee more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: 2.4× the national rateIAIndiana: 1.7× the national rateINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.8× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 1.9× the national rateLAMississippi: 1.9× the national rateMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Lee is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Iowa 70 2.4×
Louisiana 84 1.9×
Mississippi 46 1.9×
Pennsylvania 213 1.8×
Indiana 116 1.7×

Lee in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Lee ranked #1,093 in 2025 on 27 births. That is 33% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Lee comes from

From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Lee

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Lee Harvey Oswald American former marine who assassinated John F. Kennedy 1939–1963 75
Lee Marvin American actor 1924–1987 67
Lee Van Cleef American actor 1925–1989 59
Lee de Forest American inventor 1873–1961 55
Lee Grant American actress 1925 54
Lee Remick American actress 1935–1991 53
Lee Strasberg American theatre director, actor and acting teacher 1901–1982 50
Lee Iacocca American businessman 1924–2019 45
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 482 in 1899 to 813 in 1900 — 1.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Lee

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/lee.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).