Leonardo
Leonardo was the 91st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 3,789 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 75th; the most babies were born in 2019 (4,427). Over the last ten years it has moved up 12 places. More babies were named Leonardo in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning lion-strong · Italian, Germanic
Say it lee-uh-NAR-doh /ˌliəˈnɑrdoʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #91 boys, down 5 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 3,789boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20194,427 babies
- Total since 1880
- 96,207babies recorded
What does the name Leonardo mean?
Leonardo is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard. DMNES derives Leonard from Old High German lewo, 'lion', and hart, 'hard, strong'; Wiktionary also mentions the alternative first element liut, 'people'. The name spread through Europe with Saint Leonard, a 6th-century Frankish hermit who became patron saint of prisoners. DMNES records Latin Leonardus in English documents from 1553. Leo is a common short form, and Leonarda is a rare feminine.
lewo (Old High German, “lion”)hart (Old High German, “hard, strong”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Pronunciation: In Spanish and Italian the first syllable is 'leh-oh': leh-oh-NAR-doh.
Related names: Leonard, Leo, Léonard, Lenny.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean strength, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Leonard', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leonardo', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leonard', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Leonardo
The usual nicknames for Leonardo are Leo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Leonardo in the last five years, 199 were named Leo, against 59 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leo · also for Leonel, Leonidas, Leandro | Traditional | #19 | 40,252 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Leonardos go by each one.
Leonardo popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 141 since 1975.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #91 | 3,789 |
| 2020 | #86 | 4,104 |
| 2010 | #150 | 2,617 |
| 2000 | #253 | 1,331 |
| 1990 | #415 | 555 |
| 1980 | #450 | 344 |
| 1970 | #573 | 198 |
| 1960 | #754 | 105 |
| 1950 | #842 | 66 |
| 1940 | #1,040 | 39 |
| 1930 | #1,077 | 42 |
| 1920 | #962 | 52 |
| 1910 | #965 | 12 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Leonardo, counting every spelling?
Leonardo has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #97 for boys in 2025, against #91 on the official list, because Kayden/Kaiden/Caden and Nicholas/Nicolas and Elliot/Elliott/Eliot move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Leonardo?
3,789 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Leonardo (1.05 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Leonardo born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Leonardo.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Leonardo?
About 92,600 people born in the US named Leonardo are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 6 and 21. That makes Leonardo a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Leonardo by state
How common Leonardo was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.2×), California (2.1×), Illinois (1.9×), Texas (1.9×), Arizona (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in West Virginia, Maine, South Dakota.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Leonardo: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Leonardo, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Leonardo · Sibling names for Leonardo
Questions about the name Leonardo
What does Leonardo mean?
Leonardo means “lion-strong” (Italian, Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Leonardo?
Leonardo was the 91st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 3,789 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 75th; the most babies were born in 2019 (4,427). Over the last ten years it has moved up 12 places. More babies were named Leonardo in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Leonardo a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Leonardo in the US.
Where is Leonardo most popular?
In 2021–2025, Leonardo was most common in Nevada (5.17 per 1,000 boys), followed by California and Illinois.