Head to head · Boys' names
Landon vs Leon
#127 vs #138 in 2025
Landon is a whisker ahead (#127 vs #138 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Landon is stepping back from its peak, Leon is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Leon has the edge.
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
On the charts, Landon leads 4 measures of 6; Leon leads 2.
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: Landon #855, Leon #102 — Leon higher
- 1890s: Landon #885, Leon #89 — Leon higher
- 1900s: Landon #1100, Leon #84 — Leon higher
- 1910s: Landon #1313, Leon #81 — Leon higher
- 1920s: Landon #1244, Leon #77 — Leon higher
- 1930s: Landon #1150, Leon #84 — Leon higher
- 1940s: Landon #1239, Leon #107 — Leon higher
- 1950s: Landon #1313, Leon #144 — Leon higher
- 1960s: Landon #923, Leon #196 — Leon higher
- 1970s: Landon #641, Leon #224 — Leon higher
- 1980s: Landon #336, Leon #285 — Leon higher
- 1990s: Landon #245, Leon #437 — Landon higher
- 2000s: Landon #96, Leon #495 — Landon higher
- 2010s: Landon #46, Leon #311 — Landon higher
- 2020s: Landon #93, Leon #160 — Landon higher
Leon stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Landon has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Landon | Leon |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #855 | #102 |
| 1890s | #885 | #89 |
| 1900s | #1100 | #84 |
| 1910s | #1313 | #81 |
| 1920s | #1244 | #77 |
| 1930s | #1150 | #84 |
| 1940s | #1239 | #107 |
| 1950s | #1313 | #144 |
| 1960s | #923 | #196 |
| 1970s | #641 | #224 |
| 1980s | #336 | #285 |
| 1990s | #245 | #437 |
| 2000s | #96 | #495 |
| 2010s | #46 | #311 |
| 2020s | #93 | #160 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Landon
Not charting outside the US.
Leon
- Canada#75
- Scotland#97
- England & Wales#100
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Landon
long hill
The main reading traces Landon to the English surname Langdon, from Old English lang (long) and dūn (hill or down) — the name of several places in the English southwest. A second reading connects it to Norman French lande, a heath or open moor, which produced surnames such as Landon in France. Both are respectable; the English hill is the more commonly cited.
lang dūn (Old English, "long hill") → Langdon (English place name) → Langdon (surname) → Landon
How it traveled
Old English gave England hundreds of hills called dūn, and a long one was a langdūn — a description that hardened into place names and then into the surnames of families who came from them. Landon is the worn-down spelling of that surname, and like Hunter and Carson it crossed the Atlantic on the family side of the ledger before anyone thought to hand it to a baby as a first name.
Leon
lion
The Latin word for the animal, used as a personal name from the imperial period and carried by more than a dozen popes. The reading is settled. The Spanish kingdom's name is a separate matter and comes from the Roman legion stationed there rather than from the animal, which is why the two are spelled alike and mean different things.
The Latin word for the animal, used as a name → Carried by more than a dozen popes → Leon in French, Spanish and German use → Widely used in America and returning strongly
How it traveled
The assembly at Leon was called because the king needed money and could not raise it without the towns, which is the ordinary reason such bodies come into existence anywhere. What made it notable is that the decrees issued from it survive, and they record commitments the king made in return: not to make war or peace without consultation, to respect certain legal protections, and to guarantee the inviolability of the home and of the mail.
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
Landon
LAN-dun
Stress on the first syllable; the second is a soft, unstressed -dun. One pronunciation everywhere in American English.
- Lando — Informal shortening; also stands alone in Italian as a short form of Orlando.
- Lan — Very short, used within families rather than on paperwork.
- Landy — Informal, more common in childhood and on sports teams.
Leon
LEE-on
Two syllables, stress on the first, in American use. Spanish puts it on the second and writes an accent to say so; French makes it almost one syllable. The same four letters are said three ways across Europe.
- Leo — The shorter Latin form, currently one of the most fashionable short names anywhere.
- Lee — The front alone, unisex and about as unmarked as a short form gets.
- Ley — Said lay; a Spanish-flavored clipping and a word meaning law in that language.
Who has carried each name
Landon
Landon Donovan (b. 1982) — US soccer's all-time great
Leon
No documented entry for Leon yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Landon if you want…
- a name most people already know#127 in 2025, 2,840 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsLandon is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalLandon entered the US charts in 1882
- a name that feels very nowLandon is stepping back from its peak
Choose Leon if you want…
- a name fewer children share#138 in 2025 — leon will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 58 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooLeon is on the national lists of Canada, Scotland and England & Wales
- a long American recordLeon was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Landon
Strengths
- Reads and spells itself on first hearing for American English speakers — no accents, no silent letters, no correction routine.
- Two syllables with the stress up front, which sits easily beside most one- and two-syllable surnames.
- A documented English surname history stretching back to Old English place names, rather than a coinage.
To consider
- Landen, Landyn and Landin all exist, so the spelling will occasionally be checked even though yours is the standard one.
- It sits close to Brandon and to London in sound, and gets misheard as both over the phone.
- The name's big rise is recent enough that most Landons alive are children and teenagers — it may read as belonging to a particular stretch of years rather than as an old family name.
Leon
Strengths
- It is used unchanged in French, Spanish, German and Polish, which is a very wide range.
- Leo is available inside it and is currently extremely fashionable.
- The meaning is concrete and needs no explaining to a child.
To consider
- The stress falls differently in English and Spanish, which a bilingual family will notice.
- The Spanish place name is spelled identically and means something else.
- The spelling is on the register for girls as well, in very small numbers.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Landon
78%chance Landon feels dated by 2040
Landon is coming down from a big peak (#33 in 2010). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Leon
30%chance Leon feels dated by 2040
Leon is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Landon and Leon 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 Landon and Leon?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Landon and Leon — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Landon or Leon — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Landon or Leon?
- Landon, in 2025: Landon ranked #127 with 2,840 babies; Leon ranked #138 with 2,583 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Landon or Leon?
- Leon. Over the last five years Landon moved down 58 places; Leon moved up 58 places.
- Which is the older name, Landon or Leon?
- Landon entered the US charts in 1882; Leon was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Leon is the older name.
- How many people are named Landon and Leon?
- About 183,000 people named Landon are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 94,500 people named Leon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Landons or Leons in the classroom?
- Landon will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Landon, Leon and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap