Given name & surname
Lief
“a beloved heir”
Lief is a variant of Leif. One Scandinavian interpretation is “a beloved heir.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lief is a variant of Leif. One Scandinavian interpretation is “a beloved heir.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Lief is a variant of Leif. An origin associated with Leif is Old Norse.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1948. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lief through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 279
- 279 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 12 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 11 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12 in 1999. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 334 as a first name in 2020; 332 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Lief, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Trey
“the third-born child”
>99% boys
Ulysses
“one who roams; an angry man”
>99% boys
Blaine
“a saint's servant” · “a thin woman”
92% boys · 8% girls
Brendan
“born to royalty; a prince”
>99% boys
Stone
“as solid as a stone”
94% boys · 6% girls
Landen
“from the grassy meadow”
98% boys · 2% girls
Seth
“one who has been appointed”
>99% boys
Quentin
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys