Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Lean isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1916. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lean through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 892
- 221 boys · 671 girls
- Most popular year
- 1985
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #5,744 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,744 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,240 as a first name in 2020; 713 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.
Lean’s family of names
In English usage, Lean as a surname has a related form in Maclean.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Lean
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lean, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jihan
“champion”
52% boys · 48% girls
Christen
“follower of Christ”
49% boys · 51% girls
Lanier
“one who works with wool”
57% boys · 43% girls
Cortney
“a courteous woman; courtly” · “a courteous man; courtly”
65% boys · 35% girls
Santanna
“a saintly woman” · “a saintly man”
49% boys · 51% girls
Kelby
“from the waters” · “from the farm near the spring”
60% boys · 40% girls
Kirby
“from the church town” · “from the village with the church”
48% boys · 52% girls
Dusty
“a brave fighter; from a dusty place”
71% boys · 29% girls