Girls' name · since 1949
Leia
18,778 babies named Leia in U.S. Social Security records since 1949, with the highest year being 2023. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,109 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #297 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 18,778
- born since 1949
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Leia is the #297 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 18,778 recorded since 1949.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leia has been recorded 18,778 times among girls since 1949, currently ranked #297 nationally and more common than 98% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1949 to 2025.
- #1,109 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #297 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 18,778 born since 1949
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leia ranks #1,109 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #297 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 18,778 born since 1949, peaking in the 2010s.
- #1,109 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #297 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 18,778
- born since 1949
- 2010s
- peak decade
Leia's 18,778 recorded births place it above 98.46% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
45 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Leia compares
18,778 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Leia's all-time total is 50x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Leia | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 18,778 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,424 | 21 | 19,840 |
Leia's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Leia splits its recorded history at 1991: 90% of all births land in the more recent half, 10% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1950 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2023 peak of 1,424 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Leia popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1949–2025
- Peak year (2023)
- 1,424
- Annual births at peak, across 77 years of records
Leia by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (7,238 births, 39% of the file).
2010s was Leia's strongest decade.
7,238 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 39% of all-time use.
Leia births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1940s 7
1940s
7 births
- 1950s 16
1950s
16 births
- 1960s 220
1960s
220 births
- 1970s 518
1970s
518 births
- 1980s 974
1980s
974 births
- 1990s 764
1990s
764 births
- 2000s 2,103
2000s
2,103 births
- 2010s
2010s
7,238 births
- 2020s
2020s
6,938 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 7,238 births (39% of all-time use).
How Leia compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Leia's total volume
Leia by state
Where Leia concentrates geographically, total births since 1949
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 3,705 | 19.7% |
| #2 | Texas | | 2,028 | 10.8% |
| #3 | Florida | | 1,253 | 6.7% |
| #4 | New York | | 981 | 5.2% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 640 | 3.4% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 481 | 2.6% |
| #7 | Arizona | | 475 | 2.5% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 455 | 2.4% |
3,705 of 18,778 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 45 reporting states.
Leia appears in 45 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Leia's data
- Leia's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (7,238 total births) through the 2020s (6,938) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- California records the most Leias (3,705 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Leia
Nearby Names Like Leia
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Leia
Compare Leia side by side: Leia vs Leilani Leia vs Leila Leia vs Leigh
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Leia
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Leia: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2023)
Similar record span (~76 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1949–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Leia draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.