Leah
Leah was given to 3,880 girls in 2025, #58 among girls’ names; 256,954 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 233,000 Americans named Leah and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (91% of everyone recorded); the median is 24 years old and half are between 13 and 41.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Leah by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Leah mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Leah is “a female given name from Hebrew.”
From Hebrew לֵאָה (Le’a).
/ˈliːə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Leah?
#58 among girls’ names, 2025
Leah fell from #36 in 2015 to #58 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 3.2 to 2.4 per 1,000.
6,799 babies in 2009, the peak
Leah peaked in 2009, when 6,799 babies were given it (6,790 girls, #29 among girls’ names). The 3,880 births of 2025 are 57% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,880 | #58 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | 3,988 | #53 | 2.5 |
| 2023 | 3,976 | #53 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | 4,196 | #52 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 4,474 | #46 | 2.7 |
| 2020 | 4,530 | #45 | 2.8 |
| 2019 | 4,780 | #43 | 2.8 |
| 2018 | 5,038 | #41 | 3.0 |
| 2017 | 5,202 | #40 | 3.0 |
| 2016 | 5,434 | #37 | 3.1 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,636 | #36 | 3.2 |
| 2014 | 5,610 | #35 | 3.1 |
| 2013 | 5,618 | #32 | 3.2 |
| 2012 | 5,781 | #33 | 3.3 |
| 2011 | 6,400 | #29 | 3.6 |
| 2010 | 6,545 | #24 | 3.7 |
| 2009 | 6,790 | #29 | 3.7 |
| 2008 | 5,634 | #40 | 3.0 |
| 2007 | 4,555 | #67 | 2.4 |
| 2006 | 4,657 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 2005 | 4,601 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 2004 | 4,744 | #64 | 2.6 |
| 2003 | 3,925 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 2002 | 3,604 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 2001 | 3,521 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 2000 | 3,399 | #97 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | 3,288 | #103 | 1.9 |
| 1998 | 3,218 | #106 | 1.8 |
| 1997 | 3,203 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1996 | 3,326 | #98 | 1.9 |
| 1995 | 3,274 | #103 | 1.9 |
| 1994 | 3,205 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1993 | 3,414 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1992 | 3,431 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1991 | 3,816 | #91 | 2.0 |
| 1990 | 3,924 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1989 | 3,784 | #83 | 2.1 |
| 1988 | 3,558 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 1987 | 3,454 | #82 | 2.0 |
| 1986 | 3,457 | #78 | 2.0 |
| 1985 | 3,572 | #78 | 2.1 |
| 1984 | 3,535 | #83 | 2.1 |
| 1983 | 3,484 | #82 | 2.1 |
| 1982 | 3,762 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1981 | 3,808 | #81 | 2.3 |
| 1980 | 3,642 | #84 | 2.2 |
| 1979 | 3,075 | #98 | 1.9 |
| 1978 | 2,710 | #108 | 1.8 |
| 1977 | 2,586 | #112 | 1.7 |
| 1976 | 2,270 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1975 | 2,117 | #132 | 1.5 |
| 1974 | 1,844 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1973 | 1,587 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1972 | 1,594 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | 1,690 | #184 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,672 | #192 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 1,489 | #210 | 0.88 |
| 1968 | 1,616 | #195 | 1.0 |
| 1967 | 1,598 | #199 | 1.0 |
| 1966 | 1,378 | #220 | 0.81 |
| 1965 | 1,385 | #228 | 0.78 |
| 1964 | 1,422 | #230 | 0.75 |
| 1963 | 1,299 | #244 | 0.67 |
| 1962 | 977 | #295 | 0.50 |
| 1961 | 806 | #332 | 0.40 |
| 1960 | 773 | #342 | 0.38 |
| 1959 | 738 | #352 | 0.36 |
| 1958 | 667 | #357 | 0.33 |
| 1957 | 740 | #335 | 0.36 |
| 1956 | 668 | #339 | 0.33 |
| 1955 | 592 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1954 | 558 | #367 | 0.29 |
| 1953 | 580 | #346 | 0.31 |
| 1952 | 496 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1951 | 479 | #369 | 0.27 |
| 1950 | 442 | #384 | 0.26 |
| 1949 | 451 | #369 | 0.26 |
| 1948 | 387 | #403 | 0.23 |
| 1947 | 388 | #410 | 0.22 |
| 1946 | 324 | #431 | 0.21 |
| 1945 | 285 | #421 | 0.22 |
| 1944 | 306 | #414 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 308 | #419 | 0.22 |
| 1942 | 330 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1941 | 351 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1940 | 365 | #334 | 0.32 |
| 1939 | 373 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1938 | 376 | #324 | 0.34 |
| 1937 | 408 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1936 | 346 | #335 | 0.33 |
| 1935 | 362 | #334 | 0.35 |
| 1934 | 395 | #315 | 0.38 |
| 1933 | 338 | #337 | 0.34 |
| 1932 | 296 | #377 | 0.28 |
| 1931 | 319 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1930 | 326 | #376 | 0.29 |
| 1929 | 309 | #381 | 0.28 |
| 1928 | 405 | #332 | 0.35 |
| 1927 | 345 | #370 | 0.29 |
| 1926 | 436 | #319 | 0.37 |
| 1925 | 444 | #316 | 0.36 |
| 1924 | 505 | #296 | 0.40 |
| 1923 | 487 | #294 | 0.40 |
| 1922 | 485 | #293 | 0.40 |
| 1921 | 514 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1920 | 523 | #286 | 0.44 |
| 1919 | 527 | #278 | 0.47 |
| 1918 | 588 | #259 | 0.51 |
| 1917 | 534 | #269 | 0.49 |
| 1916 | 514 | #266 | 0.49 |
| 1915 | 552 | #252 | 0.56 |
| 1914 | 457 | #246 | 0.60 |
| 1913 | 370 | #248 | 0.59 |
| 1912 | 302 | #257 | 0.54 |
| 1911 | 202 | #271 | 0.48 |
| 1910 | 207 | #269 | 0.52 |
| 1909 | 176 | #273 | 0.51 |
| 1908 | 194 | #249 | 0.58 |
| 1907 | 200 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1906 | 164 | #255 | 0.56 |
| 1905 | 168 | #248 | 0.58 |
| 1904 | 149 | #259 | 0.54 |
| 1903 | 175 | #226 | 0.67 |
| 1902 | 171 | #231 | 0.65 |
| 1901 | 184 | #211 | 0.77 |
| 1900 | 166 | #252 | 0.55 |
| 1899 | 149 | #223 | 0.64 |
| 1898 | 185 | #211 | 0.71 |
| 1897 | 147 | #226 | 0.63 |
| 1896 | 169 | #211 | 0.71 |
| 1895 | 203 | #192 | 0.87 |
| 1894 | 182 | #194 | 0.82 |
| 1893 | 167 | #199 | 0.78 |
| 1892 | 163 | #196 | 0.77 |
| 1891 | 144 | #190 | 0.78 |
| 1890 | 162 | #184 | 0.85 |
| 1889 | 134 | #198 | 0.75 |
| 1888 | 118 | #210 | 0.66 |
| 1887 | 83 | #231 | 0.57 |
| 1886 | 83 | #220 | 0.57 |
| 1885 | 85 | #214 | 0.64 |
| 1884 | 79 | #212 | 0.61 |
| 1883 | 65 | #223 | 0.58 |
| 1882 | 56 | #230 | 0.52 |
| 1881 | 52 | #210 | 0.57 |
| 1880 | 54 | #210 | 0.59 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Leah a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Leah has been given almost only to girls: 466 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Leah: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Leah, and how old are they?
233,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 91% of the 256,954 Americans ever recorded as Leah. The median Leah alive today is 24 years old; half are between 13 and 41.
The 2020 Census counted 200,964 people named Leah (200,705 women and girls, 259 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 212,514 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,810 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 10,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 30,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 55,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 73,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 62,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Leah born?
The states with the most babies named Leah are New York, Texas and California, with 38% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 550 | #8 | 1.4× |
| Texas | 465 | #46 | 0.9× |
| California | 464 | #52 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 301 | #42 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 244 | #13 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 113 | #84 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 112 | #79 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 112 | #73 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 106 | #92 | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 91 | #93 | 0.8× |
Where Leah is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Leah is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Leah with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 363,059 babies since 1880, Leah is the most given (71% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,880 of their 5,531 babies (70%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Leah
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Leah and names like it
- Compare Leah and LelaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sLeah peaked in 2009.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Leah since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Leah: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2009The year the most babies were named Leah.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Leah alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with LMost given first.