Leona
Leona was given to 723 girls in 2025, #429 among girls’ names; 113,624 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 29,600 Americans named Leona and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 14 and 78.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Leona by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Leona mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Leona is “a female given name from Latin, a feminine form of Leo through Leon.”
From Leon + -a.
/liˈoʊnə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Leona?
#429 among girls’ names, 2025
Leona rose from #682 in 2015 to #429 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.23 to 0.45 per 1,000.
3,346 babies in 1918, the peak
Leona peaked in 1918, when 3,346 babies were given it (3,335 girls, #79 among girls’ names). The 723 births of 2025 are 22% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 723 | #429 | 0.45 |
| 2024 | 629 | #487 | 0.39 |
| 2023 | 586 | #521 | 0.37 |
| 2022 | 585 | #531 | 0.36 |
| 2021 | 600 | #515 | 0.37 |
| 2020 | 634 | #484 | 0.39 |
| 2019 | 616 | #510 | 0.37 |
| 2018 | 611 | #508 | 0.36 |
| 2017 | 565 | #547 | 0.33 |
| 2016 | 507 | #596 | 0.29 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 419 | #682 | 0.23 |
| 2014 | 379 | #739 | 0.21 |
| 2013 | 374 | #731 | 0.21 |
| 2012 | 287 | #912 | 0.16 |
| 2011 | 283 | #920 | 0.16 |
| 2010 | 256 | #990 | 0.14 |
| 2009 | 274 | #971 | 0.15 |
| 2008 | 237 | #1,098 | 0.13 |
| 2007 | 152 | #1,522 | 0.08 |
| 2006 | 144 | #1,528 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 139 | #1,503 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 134 | #1,508 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 104 | #1,809 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 105 | #1,738 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 90 | #1,928 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 108 | #1,637 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 90 | #1,775 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 82 | #1,875 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 101 | #1,589 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 91 | #1,677 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 90 | #1,641 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 74 | #1,914 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 89 | #1,682 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 100 | #1,556 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 114 | #1,411 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 104 | #1,493 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 142 | #1,155 | 0.08 |
| 1988 | 110 | #1,315 | 0.06 |
| 1987 | 125 | #1,176 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 129 | #1,125 | 0.08 |
| 1985 | 135 | #1,078 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 123 | #1,122 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 128 | #1,083 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 144 | #1,022 | 0.09 |
| 1981 | 152 | #966 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 167 | #904 | 0.10 |
| 1979 | 182 | #854 | 0.11 |
| 1978 | 184 | #814 | 0.12 |
| 1977 | 170 | #864 | 0.11 |
| 1976 | 158 | #863 | 0.11 |
| 1975 | 191 | #751 | 0.13 |
| 1974 | 189 | #750 | 0.13 |
| 1973 | 220 | #679 | 0.15 |
| 1972 | 227 | #663 | 0.15 |
| 1971 | 218 | #702 | 0.13 |
| 1970 | 285 | #609 | 0.16 |
| 1969 | 277 | #597 | 0.16 |
| 1968 | 275 | #579 | 0.17 |
| 1967 | 303 | #540 | 0.18 |
| 1966 | 317 | #530 | 0.19 |
| 1965 | 348 | #508 | 0.20 |
| 1964 | 405 | #480 | 0.21 |
| 1963 | 462 | #449 | 0.24 |
| 1962 | 419 | #472 | 0.21 |
| 1961 | 428 | #471 | 0.21 |
| 1960 | 461 | #455 | 0.23 |
| 1959 | 482 | #439 | 0.24 |
| 1958 | 530 | #402 | 0.26 |
| 1957 | 497 | #418 | 0.24 |
| 1956 | 521 | #393 | 0.26 |
| 1955 | 508 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1954 | 568 | #363 | 0.29 |
| 1953 | 583 | #343 | 0.31 |
| 1952 | 602 | #337 | 0.32 |
| 1951 | 669 | #302 | 0.37 |
| 1950 | 681 | #298 | 0.40 |
| 1949 | 738 | #283 | 0.43 |
| 1948 | 776 | #276 | 0.46 |
| 1947 | 814 | #268 | 0.46 |
| 1946 | 819 | #245 | 0.52 |
| 1945 | 843 | #227 | 0.64 |
| 1944 | 896 | #221 | 0.68 |
| 1943 | 1,061 | #199 | 0.76 |
| 1942 | 1,055 | #195 | 0.78 |
| 1941 | 998 | #189 | 0.83 |
| 1940 | 1,028 | #183 | 0.90 |
| 1939 | 1,075 | #177 | 1.0 |
| 1938 | 1,164 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1937 | 1,173 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1936 | 1,235 | #161 | 1.2 |
| 1935 | 1,308 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1934 | 1,472 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 1933 | 1,461 | #139 | 1.4 |
| 1932 | 1,670 | #134 | 1.6 |
| 1931 | 1,743 | #133 | 1.6 |
| 1930 | 1,872 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 1929 | 2,020 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1928 | 2,085 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1927 | 2,243 | #121 | 1.9 |
| 1926 | 2,429 | #112 | 2.0 |
| 1925 | 2,515 | #108 | 2.1 |
| 1924 | 2,794 | #103 | 2.2 |
| 1923 | 2,744 | #100 | 2.3 |
| 1922 | 2,825 | #101 | 2.4 |
| 1921 | 3,210 | #92 | 2.6 |
| 1920 | 3,166 | #89 | 2.6 |
| 1919 | 3,033 | #90 | 2.7 |
| 1918 | 3,335 | #79 | 2.9 |
| 1917 | 3,115 | #80 | 2.9 |
| 1916 | 3,086 | #75 | 3.0 |
| 1915 | 2,972 | #74 | 3.0 |
| 1914 | 2,174 | #79 | 2.9 |
| 1913 | 1,911 | #74 | 3.1 |
| 1912 | 1,650 | #76 | 3.0 |
| 1911 | 1,329 | #76 | 3.2 |
| 1910 | 1,220 | #79 | 3.1 |
| 1909 | 1,167 | #72 | 3.4 |
| 1908 | 1,118 | #73 | 3.3 |
| 1907 | 1,106 | #72 | 3.5 |
| 1906 | 1,017 | #72 | 3.4 |
| 1905 | 1,082 | #69 | 3.7 |
| 1904 | 998 | #69 | 3.6 |
| 1903 | 881 | #76 | 3.4 |
| 1902 | 875 | #76 | 3.3 |
| 1901 | 779 | #78 | 3.3 |
| 1900 | 825 | #85 | 2.8 |
| 1899 | 665 | #84 | 2.9 |
| 1898 | 665 | #90 | 2.6 |
| 1897 | 619 | #89 | 2.6 |
| 1896 | 556 | #94 | 2.3 |
| 1895 | 520 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1894 | 471 | #104 | 2.1 |
| 1893 | 463 | #102 | 2.2 |
| 1892 | 440 | #104 | 2.1 |
| 1891 | 352 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1890 | 332 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 1889 | 348 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1888 | 311 | #118 | 1.7 |
| 1887 | 208 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1886 | 227 | #125 | 1.6 |
| 1885 | 231 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 1884 | 210 | #121 | 1.6 |
| 1883 | 178 | #119 | 1.6 |
| 1882 | 163 | #124 | 1.5 |
| 1881 | 138 | #121 | 1.5 |
| 1880 | 137 | #119 | 1.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Leona a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Leona has been given almost only to girls: 294 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Leona: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Leona, and how old are they?
29,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 113,624 Americans ever recorded as Leona. The median Leona alive today is 61 years old; half are between 14 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 30,291 people named Leona (30,199 women and girls, 92 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 32,851 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 6,060 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,420 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,800 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,560 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,190 |
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 Leona born?
The states with the most babies named Leona are Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 7,561 | #263 | 1.0× |
| New York | 5,804 | #457 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 5,605 | #449 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 5,105 | #401 | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 4,596 | #303 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 4,259 | #679 | 0.7× |
| California | 4,091 | #439 | 0.8× |
| Wisconsin | 3,234 | #232 | 1.4× |
| Missouri | 3,189 | #435 | 1.2× |
| Minnesota | 3,107 | #278 | 1.5× |
Where Leona is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Leona is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 Leona 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 310,360 babies since 1880, Leona is the second most given (37% of them). In 2025 it was given to 723 of their 2,641 babies (27%), 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 Leona
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 Leona and names like it
- Compare Leona and LenaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sLeona peaked in 1918.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Leona since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Leona.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Leona alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.