Given name & surname · also Germanic, Old French
Leonard
“having the strength of a lion”
Leonard is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “having the strength of a lion.”
Original GermanLeonhard
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “having the strength of a lion.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Old French and Germanic naming traditions.
How it developed
From Old French Leonard, from Old High German leo (“lion”), from Old High German liut (“person”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Use of Leonard was revived during the 19th century.
Leonard through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 295,746
- 294,334 boys · 1,412 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 5,675 babies
- 2025
- 438
- #637 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 438 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 637 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 5,650 in 1921. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (42). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 124,979 as a first name in 2020; 86,736 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.
Leonard’s family of names
In English usage, Leonard has a diminutive in Lee. Leonard shares a linguistic root with Leonardo. Leonard has a related form in Lonnie.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Leonard has relatives in 18 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
22 related names in 18 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 40
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Leonhardvariant · German
- Lenhardtvariant · German
- Leodiminutive · Slovak, English
- Leonardovariant · Portuguese, Italian
- Leondiminutive · English
- Leonidasvariant
- Leediminutive · English
- Lennydiminutive · French, English
Show 32 moreShow fewer
- Lonnievariant
- Lennievariant
- Lennivariant · Finnish
- Leonidvariant
- Leonidesvariant
- Lendiminutive · English
- Lonnyvariant
- Lenardvariant
- Lenellvariant
- Lennelvariant
- Lennellvariant
- Lenyavariant
- Lonnivariant
- Leonisvariant
- Lennartvariant · Swedish, Estonian
- Lennardvariant
- Lennvariant
- Leovardovariant
- Leonnardlikely variant
- Lonardovariant · Italian
- Larnedvariant · English
- Lenelvariant
- Lyonechkavariant
- Lonnardvariant
- Leonerdvariant
- Leondausvariant
- Lennerdvariant
- Leovardvariant
- Leośdiminutive · Polish
- Nennepet form
- Lellepet form
- Lennepet form
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Leonardafeminine form
- Nonårdequivalent
- Leonardasequivalent
- ΛεωνάρδοςGreek
- ΛεονάρδοςGreek
- Léonardcognate · French
- Rēnataderivative · Māori
- Leonhardtequivalent
Show 5 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Leonard
- Leonard CohenCanadian singer, songwriter and poet (1934–2016)
- Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918–1990)
- Leonard NimoyAmerican actor (1931–2015)
- Lenny KravitzAmerican guitarist and singer (born 1964)
- Leonard BloomfieldAmerican linguist (1887–1949)
- Leonard SusskindAmerican physicistborn 1940
- Len DeightonEnglish writer (1929–2026)
- Buddy HackettAmerican actor and comedian (1924–2003)
- Leonard AdlemanAmerican computer scientistborn 1945
Characters named Leonard: Leonard McCoy (Star Trek), Leonard Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory), Captain Cold (supervillain appearing in DC Comics publications and related media), Doc Samson (comic book character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Leonard, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lonzo
“one who is ready for battle”
>99% boys
Maynard
“one who is brave and strong”
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Willard
“a resolute and brave man”
>99% boys
Erwin
“a friend of the wild boar”
>99% boys
Eugene
“a wellborn man”
>99% boys
Wallace
“foreign, Celtic” · “a Welshman; a man from the south”
98% boys · 2% girls
Hardy
“one who is bold and courageous”
98% boys · 2% girls
Herman
“a soldier”
>99% boys