Head to head · Boys' names
Alonzo vs Leonidas
#511 vs #510 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Leonidas is a whisker ahead (#510 vs #511 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Alonzo and Leonidas each lead 2 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Alonzo #126, Leonidas #875 — Alonzo higher
- 1890s: Alonzo #173, Leonidas #916 — Alonzo higher
- 1900s: Alonzo #218, Leonidas #1058 — Alonzo higher
- 1910s: Alonzo #295, Leonidas #1664 — Alonzo higher
- 1920s: Alonzo #336, Leonidas #1915 — Alonzo higher
- 1930s: Alonzo #353, Leonidas #2321 — Alonzo higher
- 1940s: Alonzo #386, Leonidas #2769 — Alonzo higher
- 1950s: Alonzo #363, Leonidas #2747 — Alonzo higher
- 1960s: Alonzo #373, Leonidas #2678 — Alonzo higher
- 1970s: Alonzo #428, Leonidas #3004 — Alonzo higher
- 1980s: Alonzo #457, Leonidas #3356 — Alonzo higher
- 1990s: Alonzo #493, Leonidas #4645 — Alonzo higher
- 2000s: Alonzo #552, Leonidas #3362 — Alonzo higher
- 2010s: Alonzo #529, Leonidas #637 — Alonzo higher
- 2020s: Alonzo #504, Leonidas #470 — Leonidas higher
Alonzo stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Leonidas took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alonzo | Leonidas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #126 | #875 |
| 1890s | #173 | #916 |
| 1900s | #218 | #1058 |
| 1910s | #295 | #1664 |
| 1920s | #336 | #1915 |
| 1930s | #353 | #2321 |
| 1940s | #386 | #2769 |
| 1950s | #363 | #2747 |
| 1960s | #373 | #2678 |
| 1970s | #428 | #3004 |
| 1980s | #457 | #3356 |
| 1990s | #493 | #4645 |
| 2000s | #552 | #3362 |
| 2010s | #529 | #637 |
| 2020s | #504 | #470 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Alonzo
From Germanic roots usually read as "noble and ready"
The second element, funs ("eager, ready"), is agreed on. The first is not: most read it as adal, "noble," giving "noble and ready"; others trace it to hadu or hild, both meaning "battle," which would make it something nearer "ready for battle." All three are genuine Germanic name-elements, and all three were in circulation among the Visigoths.
Adalfuns → Alfonso → Alonso → Alonzo
How it traveled
The name begins as a Germanic compound carried into Iberia by the Visigoths, and it stuck: Alfonso became one of the great royal names of medieval Spain and Portugal, worn by kings of Castile, León, Aragon and Asturias for centuries. Ordinary Spanish speech wore Alfonso down to Alonso, and Alonso is the form that spread widest — including to the hidalgo of La Mancha in Cervantes' novel.
Leonidas
Son of the lion; lion-like
From Greek λέων (leōn), "lion," plus the patronymic suffix -idas, the same ending that turns a father's name into a son's.
Λέων (Leōn) → Λεωνίδας (Leōnídas) → Leonidas (Latin) → Leonidas (English)
How it traveled
Leonidas is Greek, and its most famous bearer is Leonidas I, king of Sparta, who died in 480 BC holding the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian army — a stand retold by Herodotus and by nearly every generation since. The name stayed in continuous Greek use through the Christian centuries, borne by early martyrs and later carried into Orthodox naming tradition, where it remains ordinary in Greece today.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Alonzo
uh-LON-zoh
Stress on the middle syllable. Spanish speakers say ah-LON-so with a lighter first vowel and an s sound for the z; both are correct for their own language.
- Lonzo — The most common informal short form; also used on its own as a given name.
- Zo — Clipped to the last syllable, informal, common in sports and among friends.
- Lonnie — An older informal short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Al — The plainest option, informal, shared with Albert, Alan and Alfred.
- Also Alo.
Leonidas
lee-ON-ih-das
Four syllables, stress on the second. Greek speakers say le-o-NEE-thas, with the stress on the third syllable and a soft th; both are correct in their own settings.
- Leo — The default short form in English, and a fully established given name in its own right.
- Lee — Informal, drawn from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name and a surname.
- Leon — Used as a everyday form, and an independent given name across several European languages.
- Lenny — Informal and family-level; more often attached to Leonard, but applied to Leonidas too.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alonzo if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAlonzo is 3 syllables to Leonidas's 4
Choose Leonidas if you want…
- a name holding steadyLeonidas is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itLeonidas runs 4 syllables, Alonzo 3
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Alonzo
Strengths
- A documented line running from Visigothic Iberia through the medieval Spanish and Portuguese kings to the present — few names have a record that clear.
- Sits comfortably in English and Spanish alike, with close relatives in Italian, Portuguese, French and German.
- Ready-made short forms already in real use: Lonzo, Zo, Lonnie, Al.
To consider
- Alonzo and Alonso are both established spellings, so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — the z version will get written with an s and vice versa.
- It is strongly represented among older generations, which means most people who know an Alonzo know a grown man rather than a child. That fades as any name comes back around, but it is true right now.
- A child with this name will most likely be the only one wherever he goes. That is a real pleasure for some families and a small burden for others — being the only one means always being the one who explains.
Leonidas
Strengths
- Comes with Leo already attached — a short form everyone knows how to spell, say and write on a lunchbox.
- Spelled the way it sounds in English: no silent letters, no competing variants in wide use.
- Documented in continuous use since antiquity, from Sparta through Greek Orthodox tradition to the present.
To consider
- It is tied tightly to one story — the last stand at Thermopylae — and to the films built on it. Some families like that anchor; others would rather the name arrive without a battlefield attached.
- Expect confusion with Leonard, Leonardo and Leonid, and the occasional Leonidus in writing. The correction is quick, but it will be a lifelong one.
- Stress placement varies between English and Greek speakers, so a Greek-speaking relative and an American teacher may say it differently.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Alonzo and Leonidas in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Alonzo and Leonidas?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Names with a Z in them
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Eight-letter names with presence
- all guides
Where Alonzo and Leonidas each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alonzo or Leonidas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alonzo or Leonidas?
- Leonidas, in 2025: Leonidas ranked #510 with 591 babies; Alonzo ranked #511 with 590 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alonzo or Leonidas?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alonzo moved down 34 places; Leonidas moved down 53 places.
- Which is the older name, Alonzo or Leonidas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Alonzo and Leonidas?
- About 32,000 people named Alonzo are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 9,700 people named Leonidas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alonzos or Leonidass in the classroom?
- Alonzo will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leonidas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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