Boys' name · since 1880
Leo
259,988 babies named Leo in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2022. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #146 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #19 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 259,988
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
259,988 babies have been named Leo since 1880, making it today's #19 boys' name.
Leo has 259,988 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #19 as of the latest data, more common than 99.9% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #146 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #19 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 259,988 born since 1880
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leo ranks #146 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #19 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 259,988 born since 1880, peaking in the 2020s.
- #146 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #19 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 259,988
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
Leo's 259,988 recorded births place it above 99.67% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Leo compares
259,988 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Leo's all-time total is 705x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Leo | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 259,988 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 8,293 | 34 | 22,252 |
Leo's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Leo splits its recorded history at 1953: 54% of all births land in the more recent half, 46% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1881 (122 births) -- compare that against the 2022 peak of 8,293 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Leo popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 8,293
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Leo popularity over time - girls
2,136 total births recorded since 1880 (Leo as girls' name)
Leo by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (47,481 births, 18% of the file).
2020s was Leo's strongest decade.
47,481 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Leo births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 2,098
1880s
2,098 births
- 1890s 4,691
1890s
4,691 births
- 1900s 5,629
1900s
5,629 births
- 1910s
1910s
26,656 births
- 1920s
1920s
36,960 births
- 1930s
1930s
22,864 births
- 1940s 16,962
1940s
16,962 births
- 1950s 15,536
1950s
15,536 births
- 1960s 9,487
1960s
9,487 births
- 1970s 5,365
1970s
5,365 births
- 1980s 4,541
1980s
4,541 births
- 1990s 4,738
1990s
4,738 births
- 2000s 12,274
2000s
12,274 births
- 2010s
2010s
44,706 births
- 2020s
2020s
47,481 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 47,481 births (18% of all-time use).
How Leo compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Leo's total volume
Leo by state
Where Leo concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 22,981 | 8.8% |
| #2 | New York | | 21,079 | 8.1% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 14,604 | 5.6% |
| #4 | Texas | | 13,797 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 13,398 | 5.2% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 13,007 | 5.0% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 10,580 | 4.1% |
| #8 | Ohio | | 9,289 | 3.6% |
22,981 of 259,988 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Leo appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Leo? ▼
Where does Leo sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Leo most popular? ▼
Where is Leo most popular? ▼
How long has the name Leo been used? ▼
What names are similar to Leo? ▼
What to do with Leo's data
- California records the most Leos (22,981 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 Leo
Nearby Names Like Leo
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Leo
Compare Leo side by side: Leo vs Leonard Leo vs Leon Leo vs Leonardo
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Leo
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Leo: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Leo 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.