Girls' name · since 1880
Leona
Leona has 113,330 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1918 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #340 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #429 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 113,330
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
113,330 babies have been named Leona since 1880, making it today's #429 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leona has been recorded 113,330 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #429 nationally and more common than 98% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1920s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #340 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #429 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 113,330 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leona ranks #340 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #429 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 113,330 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #340 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #429 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 113,330
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Leona's 113,330 recorded births place it above 99.52% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Leona compares
113,330 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Leona's all-time total is 301x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Leona | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 113,330 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 3,335 | 21 | 19,840 |
Leona's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Leona's full recorded timeline at 1953, 19% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 81% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1994, with just 74 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 3,335 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Leona popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 3,335
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Leona popularity over time - boys
294 total births recorded since 1901 (Leona as boys' name)
Leona by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (26,031 births, 23% of the file).
1920s was Leona's strongest decade.
26,031 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Leona births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 2,151
1880s
2,151 births
- 1890s 5,083
1890s
5,083 births
- 1900s 9,848
1900s
9,848 births
- 1910s
1910s
23,825 births
- 1920s
1920s
26,031 births
- 1930s
1930s
14,173 births
- 1940s 9,028
1940s
9,028 births
- 1950s 5,641
1950s
5,641 births
- 1960s 3,695
1960s
3,695 births
- 1970s 2,024
1970s
2,024 births
- 1980s 1,355
1980s
1,355 births
- 1990s 935
1990s
935 births
- 2000s 1,487
2000s
1,487 births
- 2010s 4,297
2010s
4,297 births
- 2020s 3,757
2020s
3,757 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 26,031 births (23% of all-time use).
How Leona 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 Leona's total volume
Leona by state
Where Leona concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 7,561 | 6.7% |
| #2 | New York | | 5,804 | 5.1% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 5,605 | 4.9% |
| #4 | Michigan | | 5,105 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 4,596 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Texas | | 4,259 | 3.8% |
| #7 | California | | 4,091 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Wisconsin | | 3,234 | 2.9% |
7,561 of 113,330 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Leona appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Leona? ▼
Where does Leona sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Leona most popular? ▼
Where is Leona most popular? ▼
How long has the name Leona been used? ▼
What names are similar to Leona? ▼
What to do with Leona's data
- Leona's decade-level peak was the 1920s (26,031 total births); usage has since declined to 3,757 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Leonas (7,561 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Leona
Nearby Names Like Leona
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Leona
Compare Leona side by side: Leona vs Leola Leona vs Leora Leona vs Leota
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Leona
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Leona: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
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 Leona 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.