Given name & surname · also Old English
Leven
“dear, beloved”·“friend”
Leven is a surname from Old English, ultimately from German.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Leven is built from elements meaning “dear, beloved” and “friend”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Leven comes from Old English, and ultimately from German.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Leven through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 245
- 235 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 30 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,462 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,462 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 2018. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 289 as a first name in 2020; 721 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.
Leven’s family of names
In English usage, Leven as a surname has a related form in Levin. In English usage, Leven as a surname has a related form in LEVENE. In Greek usage, Leven as a surname is a transliteration of Λέβεν.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Leven
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Leven, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Kahlo is a surname from German.
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Legend
“one who is memorable”
97% boys · 3% girls
Lawson
“the son of Lawrence”
96% boys · 4% girls
Holden
“one who is willing and eager” · “from the hollow in the valley”
99% boys · 1% girls
Messer
“knife”
>99% boys