ninan.org

Leonard

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~125,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#637 among boys
Births in 2025
438 295,746 since 1880
Typical age
65 years, median

Leonard popularity over time

Leonard rank by birth year, 1880–2025Leonard ranked #78 in 1880 and #637 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #37, in 1923.#100#637best #37 in 192318901920195019802010
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.

Leonard was used most in 1921, when 5,675 babies were given the name. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. It has held a top-100 place in 78 separate years.

In 2025 it ranked #637 with 438 births. It climbed 33 places against the previous year.

Babies named Leonard per yearPeaks at 5,675 births in 1921.5,675 in 1921018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Leonard?

Roughly 125,100 Leonards are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 295,746 births under the name since 1880.

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 Leonard?

The typical living Leonard is 65 years old. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Leonard a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Leonard

Ages of living people named LeonardHalf of living Leonards are older than 65 and half younger.median 65020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Leonard is most common

Relative to births, Minnesota carries 2.4× the national share of Leonards. Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Illinois follow.

Where Leonard is used more than average5 states use the name Leonard 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: 2.4× the national rateMNIllinois: 1.5× the national rateILWisconsin: 2.2× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: 1.5× the national rateIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew 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: 1.6× the national rateMAArizona: 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: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: 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 Leonard is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Minnesota 143 2.4×
Wisconsin 121 2.2×
Massachusetts 99 1.6×
Illinois 194 1.5×
Iowa 47 1.5×

Leonard in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Leonard ranked #249 in 2025 on 187 births.

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

Where the name Leonard comes from

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”). As a surname, also used as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).

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

Notable people named Leonard

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Leonard Cohen Canadian singer, songwriter and poet 1934–2016 131
Leonard Bernstein American conductor and composer 1918–1990 81
Leonard Nimoy American actor 1931–2015 79
Leonard Bloomfield American linguist 1887–1949 45
Leonard Susskind American physicist 1940 44
Leonard Woolley British archaeologist 1880–1960 35
Leonard Adleman American computer scientist 1945 35
Leonard Kleinrock American computer scientist 1934 31
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 958 in 1911 to 1,938 in 1912 — 2.0 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.

Related pages

Get this data

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