Leighton
Leighton is given to both girls and boys: 892 girls and 207 boys were given it in 2025 (#342 among girls’ names and #1,057 among boys’, #608 among all names counting both); 21,823 Americans have been recorded with it since 1893 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Leighton every year since 2008.
An estimated 20,100 Americans named Leighton and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (92% of everyone recorded); the median is 10 years old and half are between 5 and 16.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Leighton by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Leighton mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Leighton is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “leek” (leac) and “settlement” (tun).
Various place names in England, Old English leac (“leek”) + tun (“settlement”), also in the sense of a herb garden.
/ˈleɪtən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Leighton?
#342 among girls’ names, 2025
Leighton rose from #475 in 2015 to #342 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.38 to 0.55 per 1,000.
1,144 babies in 2022, the peak
Leighton peaked in 2022, when 1,144 babies were given it (842 girls, #376 among girls’ names). The 1,099 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 96% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 892 | #342 | 207 | #1,057 |
| 2024 | 797 | #397 | 213 | #1,044 |
| 2023 | 853 | #357 | 232 | #968 |
| 2022 | 842 | #376 | 302 | #823 |
| 2021 | 825 | #379 | 281 | #848 |
| 2020 | 777 | #401 | 327 | #743 |
| 2019 | 752 | #420 | 366 | #692 |
| 2018 | 712 | #449 | 269 | #830 |
| 2017 | 668 | #468 | 238 | #903 |
| 2016 | 756 | #430 | 268 | #842 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 680 | #475 | 261 | #866 |
| 2014 | 568 | #544 | 241 | #896 |
| 2013 | 546 | #545 | 184 | #1,045 |
| 2012 | 521 | #565 | 184 | #1,045 |
| 2011 | 549 | #527 | 218 | #923 |
| 2010 | 452 | #648 | 217 | #930 |
| 2009 | 431 | #676 | 175 | #1,069 |
| 2008 | 213 | #1,196 | 159 | #1,144 |
| 2007 | 53 | #3,231 | 140 | #1,259 |
| 2006 | 37 | #4,049 | 146 | #1,158 |
| 2005 | 38 | #3,844 | 128 | #1,237 |
| 2004 | 32 | #4,339 | 99 | #1,428 |
| 2003 | 30 | #4,365 | 118 | #1,229 |
| 2002 | 30 | #4,230 | 128 | #1,125 |
| 2001 | 31 | #4,065 | 110 | #1,217 |
| 2000 | 37 | #3,557 | 102 | #1,274 |
| 1999 | 34 | #3,605 | 106 | #1,205 |
| 1998 | 35 | #3,459 | 107 | #1,167 |
| 1997 | 42 | #2,906 | 91 | #1,267 |
| 1996 | 33 | #3,471 | 111 | #1,088 |
| 1995 | 25 | #4,162 | 90 | #1,223 |
| 1994 | 15 | #6,179 | 98 | #1,145 |
| 1993 | 7 | #11,248 | 91 | #1,171 |
| 1992 | 16 | #5,880 | 115 | #1,019 |
| 1991 | 12 | #7,204 | 78 | #1,263 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,776 | 71 | #1,318 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,431 | 77 | #1,220 |
| 1988 | 7 | #9,862 | 61 | #1,320 |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,722 | 49 | #1,475 |
| 1986 | 9 | #7,451 | 50 | #1,410 |
| 1985 | 7 | #8,842 | 53 | #1,323 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,812 | 52 | #1,285 |
| 1983 | 5 | #11,203 | 57 | #1,210 |
| 1982 | 5 | #11,463 | 53 | #1,284 |
| 1981 | under 5 | 56 | #1,231 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 41 | #1,511 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 58 | #1,199 | |
| 1978 | under 5 | 43 | #1,424 | |
| 1977 | under 5 | 31 | #1,727 | |
| 1976 | under 5 | 41 | #1,401 | |
| 1975 | under 5 | 43 | #1,333 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 41 | #1,344 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 40 | #1,322 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 33 | #1,490 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 34 | #1,485 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 25 | #1,769 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 39 | #1,272 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 34 | #1,331 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 27 | #1,492 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 27 | #1,494 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 19 | #1,840 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 21 | #1,771 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 40 | #1,234 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 38 | #1,266 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 26 | #1,587 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 37 | #1,310 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 28 | #1,515 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 25 | #1,573 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 31 | #1,421 | |
| 1956 | 6 | #5,648 | 47 | #1,113 |
| 1955 | under 5 | 40 | #1,192 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 42 | #1,157 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 42 | #1,145 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 48 | #1,050 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 38 | #1,183 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 42 | #1,095 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 41 | #1,104 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 34 | #1,244 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 36 | #1,224 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 53 | #918 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 45 | #963 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 47 | #940 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 43 | #1,031 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 47 | #979 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 37 | #1,082 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 40 | #1,028 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 33 | #1,133 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 40 | #1,020 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 26 | #1,329 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 35 | #1,111 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 30 | #1,240 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 33 | #1,162 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 26 | #1,320 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 38 | #1,104 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 45 | #991 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 43 | #1,063 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 42 | #1,068 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 40 | #1,116 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 36 | #1,216 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 36 | #1,206 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 44 | #1,051 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 49 | #1,011 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 58 | #901 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 45 | #1,051 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 48 | #1,016 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 42 | #1,100 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 31 | #1,286 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 44 | #1,025 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 40 | #1,056 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 31 | #1,192 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 27 | #1,287 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 29 | #1,065 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 17 | #1,290 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 20 | #1,046 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 8 | #1,342 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 7 | #1,221 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 11 | #858 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 7 | #1,152 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 6 | #1,246 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 6 | #996 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 5 | #1,228 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 5 | #1,177 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 5 | #1,124 |
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 Leighton a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 21,823 Americans recorded as Leighton, 57% are girls and 43% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Leighton: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Leighton, and how old are they?
20,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 92% of the 21,823 Americans ever recorded as Leighton. The median Leighton alive today is 10 years old; half are between 5 and 16.
The 2020 Census counted 13,417 people named Leighton (6,962 women and girls, 6,455 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 14,102 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 | 139 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 464 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 512 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,280 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,740 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 13,000 |
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 Leighton born?
The states with the most babies named Leighton are Texas, Tennessee and California, with 22% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Tennessee is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 112 | #379 | 1.0× |
| Tennessee | 59 | #146 | 0.9× |
| California | 55 | #679 | 0.4× |
| North Carolina | 54 | #231 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 43 | #486 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 41 | #264 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 40 | #298 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 37 | #424 | 0.7× |
| Indiana | 36 | #249 | 1.1× |
| Minnesota | 34 | #189 | 1.4× |
Where Leighton is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Leighton is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Leighton 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 22,119 babies since 1880, Leighton is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,099 of their 1,110 babies (99%), 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 Leighton
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 Leighton and names like it
- Compare Leighton and LeightynBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sLeighton peaked in 2022.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Leighton since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Leighton: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2022The year the most babies were named Leighton.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Leighton alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.