Given name & surname
Lech
“cunning”
Lech is a surname from Polish. It is used in English and Polish.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lech possibly goes back to a word meaning “cunning.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Slavic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In Polish usage, Lech as a surname is a diminutive of Lścimir.
The story
In mythological stories, Lech is associated with the founder of the Polish people.
Lech through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 5 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 5 in 1982. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 392 as a first name in 2020; 1,238 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.
Lech’s family of names
Lech has an affectionate form in Leszek. In Polish usage, Lech has a later derivative in LEKH. Lech has a related form in Leche.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lech
- Lech WałęsaPresident of Poland from 1990 to 1995 (born 1943)
- Lech KaczyńskiPolish politician, democratic oppositionist, ministry of justice, president of Poland (1949–2010)
- Lech KoziejowskiPolish fencerborn 1949
- Lech Piaseckiracing cyclistborn 1961
- Lech MajewskiPolish film and theater director (born 1953)
- Lech OrdonPolish actor (1928–2017)
- Lech ŁaskoPolish former volleyball playerborn 1956
- Lech JanerkaPolish musicianborn 1953
- Lech MackiewiczPolish actor and playwrightborn 1960
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Lech, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jorde
>99% boys
Volos
>99% boys
Orestes
Orestes is a given name from Ancient Greek. It is used in Portuguese.
>99% boys
Դմիտրի
“a follower of the goddess Demeter”
>99% boys
Terran
“man of the earth”
94% boys · 6% girls
Sridhar
“bearing or possessing the goddess Lakshmi”
>99% boys
Cass
“one who is pure; virginal” · “one who is empty; hollow; vain”
98% boys · 2% girls
Donny
“a brown-haired chief” · “ruler of the world”
>99% boys