Given name & surname · also Hebrew
Lev
“heart”
Lev is a masculine given name. It is used in English and Czech.
Original RussianЛев
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Russian.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lev through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,083
- 2,999 boys · 84 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 236 babies
- 2025
- 236
- #1,001 for boys · #10,555 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 227 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,001 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 9 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (45). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,033 as a first name in 2020; 1,349 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.
Lev’s family of names
Lev shares a linguistic root with Lew. Lev is a form of Leo. In Czech usage, Lev has a conventional equivalent in the English form Leo.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lev has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
4 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
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 20
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lev
- Leo TolstoyRussian author (1828–1910)
- Lev LandauSoviet theoretical physicist (1908–1968)
- Lev YashinPlayer for U.S.S.R (1929–1990)
- Lev VygotskySoviet psychologist (1896-1934)
- Lev KamenevRussian revolutionary and Soviet politician (1883–1936)
- Leo IIByzantine emperor (467-474)
- Leo V the ArmenianByzantine emperor (lived 775–820)
- Lev GumilevSoviet academic (1912-1992)
- Henri TroyatFrench Armenian writer1911–2007
Characters named Lev: Prince Myshkin (fictional character of Dostoevsky).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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