Leonidas
Leonidas was the 510th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 591 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 421st with 760 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 8 places. More babies were named Leonidas in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning son of the lion; lion-like · Greek
Say it lee-ON-ih-dus /liˈɑnɪdəs/
- Rank in 2025
- #510 boys, down 53 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 591boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022760 babies
- Total since 1880
- 10,281babies recorded
What does the name Leonidas mean?
Leonidas is a Greek name, Leōnidas, "son of the lion" or "lion-like", from leōn, "lion", with a patronymic ending. Its most famous bearer is Leonidas I, king of Sparta, killed at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, as Wiktionary and the Random House dictionary note. In the US it is used mostly in Spanish-speaking families.
λέων (Ancient Greek, “lion”)-ίδας (Ancient Greek, “son of, descendant”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Leon, Leo, Leonid, Leónidas.
See also: Greek names, names that mean an animal.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leonidas', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Leonidas', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Leo', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Leonidas
The usual nicknames for Leonidas are Leo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Leonidas in the last five years, 1229 were named Leo, against 4956 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leo · also for Leonardo, Leonel, 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 Leonidass go by each one.
Leonidas popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #510 | 591 |
| 2020 | #457 | 649 |
| 2010 | #927 | 218 |
| 2000 | #4,707 | 16 |
| 1990 | #3,402 | 18 |
| 1980 | #3,041 | 15 |
| 1970 | #2,692 | 13 |
| 1960 | #4,373 | 5 |
| 1950 | #2,694 | 9 |
| 1940 | #2,257 | 11 |
| 1930 | #2,383 | 12 |
| 1920 | #1,408 | 28 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | #1,001 | 5 |
How popular is Leonidas, counting every spelling?
Leonidas is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #509 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #510 for Leonidas on its own. Together these spellings went to 591 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonidas | 591 | #510 | 3,274 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Leonidas?
591 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Leonidas (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Leonidas 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 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Leonidas.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Leonidas?
About 9,600 people born in the US named Leonidas are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 12. That makes Leonidas 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.
Leonidas by state
How common Leonidas was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (4.8×), New Mexico (2.6×), Nevada (2.2×), Colorado (2.2×), Washington (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Leonidas: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Leonidas, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Leonidas · Sibling names for Leonidas
Questions about the name Leonidas
What does Leonidas mean?
Leonidas means “son of the lion; lion-like” (Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Leonidas?
Leonidas was the 510th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 591 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 421st with 760 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 8 places. More babies were named Leonidas in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Leonidas a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Leonidas in the US.
Where is Leonidas most popular?
In 2021–2025, Leonidas was most common in Hawaii (1.80 per 1,000 boys), followed by New Mexico and Nevada.