Given name
Leonid
“having the strength of a lion”
Leonid is a variant of Leonard. One German interpretation is “having the strength of a lion.”
Original Ancient GreekΛεωνίδας
Meaning & origin
What it means
Leonid is a variant of Leonard. One German interpretation is “having the strength of a lion.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Leonid developed from Λεωνίδας.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1959. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Leonid is a variant of Leonard. The history of Leonard gives this family its wider story. Use of Leonard was revived during the 19th century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Leonid through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 494
- 494 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 30 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #5,746 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +21%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,746 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 20.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,374 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Leonid’s family of names
In Slovenian usage, Leonid has a feminine form in LEONIDA. Leonid has a related form in Leonard. Leonid is a form of Leonidés.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Leonid has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Leonid comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 21
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Leonid
- Leonid BrezhnevGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1906–1982)
- Leonid KuchmaUkrainian businessman and politician, second President of Ukraine from 1994 to 2005born 1938
- Leonid KravchukUkrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine1934–2022
- Leonid KantorovichRussian mathematician (1912-1986)
- Leonid AndreyevRussian playwright, author and poet (1871–1919)
- Leonid HurwiczPolish-American economist and mathematician (1917–2008)
- Leonid GaidaiSoviet film director (1923-1993)
- Leonid GovorovSoviet marshal (1897–1955)
- Leonid LeonovRussian writer (1899–1994)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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