Given name & surname
Le
“one who brings joy to others”·“filled with joy”
Le is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “one who brings joy to others” (Chinese) and “filled with joy” (Chinese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Mandarin黎
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “one who brings joy to others” (Chinese) and “filled with joy” (Chinese). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Chinese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1888. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Le is a variant of Lee. The history of Lee gives this family its wider story. Lee’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Le through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,653
- 775 boys · 878 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 49 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2014. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 20 in 1990. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,000 as a first name in 2020; 138,532 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Le’s family of names
In English usage, Le has a related form in Lee. In English usage, Le as a surname has a related form in Li. In English usage, Le as a surname has a related form in Lê.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Le has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Chinese roots to each of them.
8 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Le
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Le, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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