Leigh
Leigh was given to 31 girls in 2025, #4,503 among girls’ names; 45,349 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 39,600 Americans named Leigh and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (87% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 43 and 60.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Leigh by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Leigh mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Leigh is “a female given name, Female equivalent of Lee.” Its etymology gives the sense “wood, meadow” (lēah).
Also “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.”
From the nominative case of Old English lēah (“wood, meadow”), 'dweller by the wood or clearing'.
/liː/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Leigh?
#4,503 among girls’ names, 2025
Leigh fell from #3,416 in 2015 to #4,503 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 26.3 to 19.3 per million.
1,641 babies in 1969, the peak
Leigh peaked in 1969, when 1,641 babies were given it (1,564 girls, #201 among girls’ names). The 31 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 31 | #4,503 | under 5 | |
| 2024 | 46 | #3,436 | under 5 | |
| 2023 | 38 | #3,951 | 5 | #13,370 |
| 2022 | 56 | #2,979 | 8 | #9,493 |
| 2021 | 44 | #3,526 | under 5 | |
| 2020 | 38 | #3,813 | 9 | #8,462 |
| 2019 | 59 | #2,841 | under 5 | |
| 2018 | 46 | #3,423 | 8 | #9,305 |
| 2017 | 59 | #2,861 | under 5 | |
| 2016 | 64 | #2,723 | 6 | #11,583 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 47 | #3,416 | 7 | #10,192 |
| 2014 | 56 | #3,031 | 8 | #9,279 |
| 2013 | 49 | #3,295 | under 5 | |
| 2012 | 39 | #3,961 | 6 | #11,667 |
| 2011 | 44 | #3,581 | under 5 | |
| 2010 | 50 | #3,284 | 8 | #9,324 |
| 2009 | 61 | #2,872 | 5 | #13,667 |
| 2008 | 57 | #3,043 | 5 | #13,757 |
| 2007 | 45 | #3,633 | 7 | #10,436 |
| 2006 | 63 | #2,799 | under 5 | |
| 2005 | 63 | #2,690 | 6 | #10,923 |
| 2004 | 74 | #2,331 | 7 | #9,537 |
| 2003 | 83 | #2,112 | 6 | #10,335 |
| 2002 | 83 | #2,068 | 8 | #8,135 |
| 2001 | 116 | #1,598 | 11 | #6,265 |
| 2000 | 123 | #1,497 | 14 | #5,202 |
| 1999 | 149 | #1,252 | 11 | #5,883 |
| 1998 | 147 | #1,239 | 9 | #6,616 |
| 1997 | 191 | #1,009 | 14 | #4,587 |
| 1996 | 219 | #898 | 11 | #5,387 |
| 1995 | 230 | #851 | 16 | #3,974 |
| 1994 | 287 | #725 | 14 | #4,432 |
| 1993 | 372 | #615 | 12 | #4,885 |
| 1992 | 423 | #557 | 23 | #2,955 |
| 1991 | 445 | #526 | 33 | #2,206 |
| 1990 | 523 | #467 | 28 | #2,462 |
| 1989 | 603 | #409 | 40 | #1,878 |
| 1988 | 714 | #347 | 43 | #1,655 |
| 1987 | 668 | #358 | 56 | #1,329 |
| 1986 | 718 | #337 | 51 | #1,395 |
| 1985 | 773 | #312 | 58 | #1,264 |
| 1984 | 883 | #272 | 64 | #1,139 |
| 1983 | 863 | #271 | 58 | #1,196 |
| 1982 | 959 | #258 | 79 | #1,020 |
| 1981 | 1,100 | #230 | 79 | #1,027 |
| 1980 | 1,176 | #218 | 63 | #1,151 |
| 1979 | 1,127 | #232 | 66 | #1,103 |
| 1978 | 916 | #258 | 55 | #1,211 |
| 1977 | 954 | #258 | 62 | #1,110 |
| 1976 | 930 | #257 | 54 | #1,173 |
| 1975 | 1,064 | #228 | 57 | #1,122 |
| 1974 | 1,225 | #206 | 37 | #1,432 |
| 1973 | 1,078 | #239 | 48 | #1,195 |
| 1972 | 1,210 | #228 | 60 | #1,042 |
| 1971 | 1,424 | #213 | 74 | #951 |
| 1970 | 1,483 | #213 | 87 | #864 |
| 1969 | 1,564 | #201 | 77 | #876 |
| 1968 | 1,425 | #210 | 82 | #819 |
| 1967 | 1,342 | #218 | 88 | #780 |
| 1966 | 972 | #266 | 71 | #867 |
| 1965 | 868 | #308 | 60 | #950 |
| 1964 | 1,050 | #279 | 76 | #876 |
| 1963 | 980 | #296 | 76 | #867 |
| 1962 | 891 | #314 | 77 | #868 |
| 1961 | 843 | #325 | 81 | #853 |
| 1960 | 770 | #345 | 80 | #846 |
| 1959 | 671 | #369 | 80 | #850 |
| 1958 | 622 | #366 | 89 | #793 |
| 1957 | 617 | #365 | 84 | #827 |
| 1956 | 611 | #354 | 98 | #742 |
| 1955 | 460 | #411 | 126 | #654 |
| 1954 | 319 | #496 | 98 | #728 |
| 1953 | 241 | #564 | 104 | #698 |
| 1952 | 190 | #644 | 101 | #695 |
| 1951 | 184 | #642 | 83 | #771 |
| 1950 | 166 | #661 | 80 | #768 |
| 1949 | 163 | #651 | 104 | #671 |
| 1948 | 122 | #778 | 93 | #695 |
| 1947 | 114 | #823 | 105 | #674 |
| 1946 | 124 | #727 | 85 | #706 |
| 1945 | 74 | #876 | 78 | #688 |
| 1944 | 45 | #1,180 | 63 | #792 |
| 1943 | 35 | #1,410 | 77 | #738 |
| 1942 | 51 | #1,107 | 69 | #779 |
| 1941 | 35 | #1,301 | 60 | #823 |
| 1940 | 28 | #1,453 | 65 | #769 |
| 1939 | 18 | #1,922 | 42 | #986 |
| 1938 | 22 | #1,680 | 54 | #849 |
| 1937 | 12 | #2,509 | 57 | #815 |
| 1936 | 9 | #2,986 | 54 | #829 |
| 1935 | 9 | #3,049 | 45 | #948 |
| 1934 | 9 | #3,046 | 37 | #1,083 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,273 | 22 | #1,482 |
| 1932 | 10 | #2,947 | 29 | #1,278 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,987 | 35 | #1,162 |
| 1930 | 13 | #2,489 | 35 | #1,207 |
| 1929 | 9 | #3,266 | 31 | #1,283 |
| 1928 | 6 | #4,476 | 49 | #987 |
| 1927 | 10 | #3,179 | 41 | #1,122 |
| 1926 | 13 | #2,641 | 36 | #1,205 |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,526 | 37 | #1,176 |
| 1924 | 13 | #2,750 | 42 | #1,114 |
| 1923 | 12 | #2,829 | 41 | #1,123 |
| 1922 | 9 | #3,526 | 29 | #1,383 |
| 1921 | 11 | #3,053 | 32 | #1,310 |
| 1920 | 9 | #3,478 | 33 | #1,266 |
| 1919 | 7 | #4,057 | 41 | #1,070 |
| 1918 | 7 | #4,084 | 31 | #1,276 |
| 1917 | 10 | #2,983 | 32 | #1,213 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,805 | 21 | #1,573 |
| 1915 | 6 | #4,035 | 31 | #1,174 |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,930 | 15 | #1,650 |
| 1913 | under 5 | 17 | #1,289 | |
| 1912 | 9 | #2,058 | 18 | #1,126 |
| 1911 | under 5 | 9 | #1,242 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 6 | #1,515 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 5 | #1,509 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 6 | #1,275 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,348 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 5 | #1,144 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 8 | #828 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 7 | #939 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 8 | #837 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 8 | #825 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 9 | #772 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 5 | #1,052 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 7 | #877 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 6 | #880 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 8 | #730 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 7 | #808 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 5 | #1,023 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Leigh a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 45,349 Americans recorded as Leigh, 89% are girls and 11% boys. Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Leigh every year since 1946. In 2025 it went to 31 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Leigh: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Leigh, and how old are they?
39,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 87% of the 45,349 Americans ever recorded as Leigh. The median Leigh alive today is 53 years old; half are between 43 and 60.
The 2020 Census counted 38,258 people named Leigh (34,742 women and girls, 3,516 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 40,709 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 378 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,630 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 10,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,490 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 680 |
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 Leigh born?
The states with the most babies named Leigh are Texas, New York and Pennsylvania, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,987 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 2,649 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,171 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 2,152 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| California | 2,140 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Georgia | 1,876 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Alabama | 1,872 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Ohio | 1,710 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Tennessee | 1,707 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Virginia | 1,403 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Leigh is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Leigh is most over-represented in Alabama: since 1910 it was given 2.2 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 Leigh 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 341,275 babies since 1880, Leigh is the second most given (13% of them). In 2025 it was given to 31 of their 418 babies (7.4%), again the second 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 Leigh
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 Leigh and names like it
- Compare Leigh and LeeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sLeigh peaked in 1969.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Leigh since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Leigh: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1969The year the most babies were named Leigh.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Leigh alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with LMost given first.