gender neutral
Leo
lion
About Leo
Leo. Three letters. Maximum impact. This name achieves what many longer names struggle to accomplish—instant recognition, universal appeal, and timeless strength all in a compact package. The lion association brings obvious symbolism: courage, leadership, nobility, power. But Leo transcends this obvious connection to stand as a complete, sophisticated choice in its own right. The name has experienced remarkable growth in popularity recently, yet it never feels overdone or trendy because of its classical roots extending back millennia. Leo works flawlessly across virtually every language and culture, maintaining the same spelling and similar pronunciation globally—a rare and valuable quality. It requires no nickname because it's already perfectly concise, yet it also serves beautifully as a nickname for longer names like Leonardo or Leopold. The name suits every personality type, from quiet intellectuals to athletic extroverts, from artists to engineers. Its brevity makes it memorable, its history makes it respectable, and its sound makes it strong. Leo simply works.
Popularity of the Name Leo
Rank among the 1,000 most popular baby names, by year.
| United States | United Kingdom | New Zealand | Ireland | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | #93 | ||||
| 1881 | #103 | ||||
| 1882 | #99 | ||||
| 1883 | #95 | ||||
| 1884 | #84 | ||||
| 1885 | #83 | ||||
| 1886 | #73 | ||||
| 1887 | #74 | ||||
| 1888 | #59 | ||||
| 1889 | #59 | ||||
| 1890 | #49 | ||||
| 1891 | #51 | ||||
| 1892 | #49 | ||||
| 1893 | #45 | ||||
| 1894 | #42 | ||||
| 1895 | #42 | ||||
| 1896 | #47 | ||||
| 1897 | #46 | ||||
| 1898 | #39 | ||||
| 1899 | #43 | ||||
| 1900 | #46 | #72 | |||
| 1901 | #42 | #66 | |||
| 1902 | #43 | #68 | |||
| 1903 | #38 | #64 | |||
| 1904 | #42 | #63 | |||
| 1905 | #46 | #71 | |||
| 1906 | #47 | #78 | |||
| 1907 | #42 | #71 | |||
| 1908 | #49 | #76 | |||
| 1909 | #49 | #58 | |||
| 1910 | #51 | #71 | |||
| 1911 | #51 | #75 | |||
| 1912 | #49 | #70 | |||
| 1913 | #48 | #75 | |||
| 1914 | #47 | #65 | |||
| 1915 | #47 | #83 | |||
| 1916 | #47 | #75 | |||
| 1917 | #47 | #64 | |||
| 1918 | #48 | #69 | |||
| 1919 | #49 | #85 | |||
| 1920 | #48 | #77 | |||
| 1921 | #50 | #82 | |||
| 1922 | #51 | #82 | |||
| 1923 | #49 | #80 | |||
| 1924 | #51 | #65 | |||
| 1925 | #54 | #78 | |||
| 1926 | #54 | #76 | |||
| 1927 | #55 | #85 | |||
| 1928 | #61 | #77 | |||
| 1929 | #60 | #74 | |||
| 1930 | #63 | #86 | |||
| 1931 | #69 | #89 | |||
| 1932 | #74 | #92 | |||
| 1933 | #75 | #82 | |||
| 1934 | #86 | #109 | |||
| 1935 | #92 | #107 | |||
| 1936 | #94 | #122 | |||
| 1937 | #97 | #130 | |||
| 1938 | #104 | #101 | |||
| 1939 | #108 | #133 | |||
| 1940 | #112 | #104 | |||
| 1941 | #116 | #122 | |||
| 1942 | #120 | #110 | |||
| 1943 | #133 | #132 | |||
| 1944 | #132 | #186 | |||
| 1945 | #139 | #152 | |||
| 1946 | #147 | #149 | |||
| 1947 | #147 | #155 | |||
| 1948 | #151 | #187 | |||
| 1949 | #153 | #157 | |||
| 1950 | #160 | #180 | |||
| 1951 | #156 | #153 | |||
| 1952 | #171 | #156 | |||
| 1953 | #162 | #180 | |||
| 1954 | #172 | #154 | |||
| 1955 | #175 | #175 | |||
| 1956 | #184 | #199 | |||
| 1957 | #190 | #172 | |||
| 1958 | #196 | #163 | |||
| 1959 | #202 | #207 | |||
| 1960 | #230 | #167 | |||
| 1961 | #230 | #163 | |||
| 1962 | #232 | #186 | |||
| 1963 | #237 | #229 | |||
| 1964 | #233 | #205 | #102 | ||
| 1965 | #247 | #239 | #99 | ||
| 1966 | #244 | #211 | #98 | ||
| 1967 | #262 | #94 | |||
| 1968 | #279 | #267 | #107 | ||
| 1969 | #273 | #108 | |||
| 1970 | #294 | #254 | #111 | ||
| 1971 | #302 | #106 | |||
| 1972 | #327 | #119 | |||
| 1973 | #335 | #292 | #123 | ||
| 1974 | #340 | #145 | |||
| 1975 | #336 | #224 | #144 | ||
| 1976 | #348 | #137 | |||
| 1977 | #359 | #157 | |||
| 1978 | #353 | #133 | |||
| 1979 | #362 | #262 | #171 | ||
| 1980 | #367 | #161 | |||
| 1981 | #341 | #287 | #155 | ||
| 1982 | #366 | #268 | #153 | ||
| 1983 | #388 | #271 | #156 | ||
| 1984 | #396 | #235 | #168 | ||
| 1985 | #405 | #294 | #139 | ||
| 1986 | #422 | #278 | #177 | ||
| 1987 | #410 | #245 | #187 | ||
| 1988 | #426 | #211 | #173 | ||
| 1989 | #454 | #218 | #188 | ||
| 1990 | #476 | #270 | #173 | ||
| 1991 | #441 | #254 | #168 | #369 | |
| 1992 | #463 | #228 | #182 | #323 | |
| 1993 | #465 | #281 | #177 | #348 | |
| 1994 | #462 | #339 | #171 | #349 | |
| 1995 | #486 | #321 | #204 | #361 | |
| 1996 | #482 | #240 | #172 | #328 | |
| 1997 | #471 | #227 | #238 | #218 | #362 |
| 1998 | #434 | #177 | #202 | #172 | #275 |
| 1999 | #441 | #169 | #165 | #188 | #263 |
| 2000 | #388 | #148 | #145 | #172 | #262 |
| 2001 | #360 | #107 | #131 | #114 | #195 |
| 2002 | #339 | #95 | #99 | #116 | #191 |
| 2003 | #285 | #82 | #93 | #123 | #178 |
| 2004 | #265 | #62 | #91 | #105 | #135 |
| 2005 | #259 | #40 | #82 | #97 | #124 |
| 2006 | #235 | #36 | #71 | #87 | #123 |
| 2007 | #238 | #49 | #58 | #91 | #115 |
| 2008 | #228 | #43 | #53 | #96 | #119 |
| 2009 | #210 | #40 | #48 | #113 | #101 |
| 2010 | #191 | #38 | #42 | #95 | #90 |
| 2011 | #167 | #28 | #36 | #79 | #74 |
| 2012 | #134 | #20 | #23 | #84 | #50 |
| 2013 | #112 | #17 | #24 | #63 | #39 |
| 2014 | #97 | #14 | #22 | #57 | #33 |
| 2015 | #91 | #14 | #25 | #53 | #24 |
| 2016 | #74 | #13 | #9 | #45 | #17 |
| 2017 | #62 | #7 | #11 | #33 | #11 |
| 2018 | #50 | #6 | #4 | #34 | #8 |
| 2019 | #40 | #7 | #3 | #32 | #8 |
| 2020 | #36 | #6 | #4 | #29 | #5 |
| 2021 | #31 | #5 | #4 | #29 | #4 |
| 2022 | #22 | #4 | #3 | #23 | #4 |
| 2023 | #18 | #4 | #5 | #17 | #4 |
| 2024 | #24 | #4 | #3 | #22 | #4 |
| 2025 | #19 | #4 | #6 | #10 | #4 |
Top names by country: United States · United Kingdom · New Zealand · Ireland · Canada
Variations of Name Leo
Names Similar to Leo
Nicknames for Leo
- Le
- Lee
- L
- Leon
- Lelo
Famous People Named Leo
| Leonardo da Vinci | Italian polymath and artist |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | American actor |
| Leo Tolstoy | Russian writer |
| Leo Messi | Argentinian footballer |
| Leo Varadkar | Irish politician |
| Leo Howard | American actor and martial artist |
| Leo Laporte | American technology broadcaster |
| Leo McKern | Australian actor |
| Leo Sayer | English singer-songwriter |
| Leo Gorcey | American actor |
| Leo Fender | American inventor and musician |
| Leo Strauss | German-American philosopher |
| Leo Baekeland | Belgian-American chemist and inventor |
| Leo Ornstein | Russian-American composer and pianist |
| Leo Carrillo | American actor |
| Leo G. Carroll | English actor |
| Leo Robin | American composer and lyricist |
| Leo Rosten | American author and humorist |
| Leo Buscaglia | American author and motivational speaker |
Characters Named Leo
| Leo Valdez | Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan |
| Leo Fitz | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series |
| Leo Bloom | The Producers |
| Leo Gallagher | That '70s Show TV series |
| Leo Barnes | The Purge film series |
| Leo Kliesen | Tekken video game series |
| Leo Elster | Humans TV series |
| Leo Wanta | 24 TV series |
| Leo Getz | Lethal Weapon film series |
| Leo Wyatt | Final Destination film series |
| Leo McGarry | The West Wing TV series |
| Leo Bonhart | The Witcher book series |
| Leo Kovalensky | Shadows of the Apt book series |
| Leo Demidov | Child 44 book series |
| Leo Poldo | Higurashi When They Cry visual novel series |
| Leo Johnson | The Sopranos TV series |