Head to head · Girls' names
Leia vs Lola
#297 vs #275 in 2025
Lola is a whisker ahead (#275 vs #297 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lola is stepping back from its peak, Leia is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Leia 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, Lola leads 5 measures of 6; Leia leads 0.
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: Leia —, Lola #124 — Lola higher
- 1890s: Leia —, Lola #113 — Lola higher
- 1900s: Leia —, Lola #108 — Lola higher
- 1910s: Leia —, Lola #136 — Lola higher
- 1920s: Leia —, Lola #159 — Lola higher
- 1930s: Leia —, Lola #179 — Lola higher
- 1940s: Leia #4235, Lola #253 — Lola higher
- 1950s: Leia #5421, Lola #375 — Lola higher
- 1960s: Leia #2967, Lola #599 — Lola higher
- 1970s: Leia #2622, Lola #870 — Lola higher
- 1980s: Leia #1429, Lola #1545 — Leia higher
- 1990s: Leia #1950, Lola #2553 — Leia higher
- 2000s: Leia #1179, Lola #573 — Lola higher
- 2010s: Leia #500, Lola #231 — Lola higher
- 2020s: Leia #274, Lola #261 — Lola higher
Lola stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Lola has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leia | Lola |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #124 |
| 1890s | — | #113 |
| 1900s | — | #108 |
| 1910s | — | #136 |
| 1920s | — | #159 |
| 1930s | — | #179 |
| 1940s | #4235 | #253 |
| 1950s | #5421 | #375 |
| 1960s | #2967 | #599 |
| 1970s | #2622 | #870 |
| 1980s | #1429 | #1545 |
| 1990s | #1950 | #2553 |
| 2000s | #1179 | #573 |
| 2010s | #500 | #231 |
| 2020s | #274 | #261 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Leia
Not charting outside the US.
Lola
- France#53
- England & Wales#87
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Leia
"weary" through Hebrew Leah; "garland, wreath" in Hawaiian
As a form of Leah, the Hebrew name in Genesis is traditionally read as "weary," with some scholars connecting it instead to an Akkadian word for cow or wild cow. Quite separately, Hawaiian leia relates to lei, a garland or wreath. Which reading applies depends entirely on which tradition a family is drawing from, and both are genuine.
Le'ah (Hebrew) → Leia (Greek, Septuagint) → Lia → Léia (Portuguese) → Leia
How it traveled
The oldest thread runs through the Hebrew name Le'ah, borne in Genesis by Jacob's first wife; when the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, it was written Λεία, and Latin and the Romance languages carried it on as Lia, with Léia established in Brazilian Portuguese. A wholly separate thread is Hawaiian, where leia belongs to the family of words around lei, the garland.
Lola
short form of Dolores, "sorrows"
Dolores comes from the Spanish title María de los Dolores, Mary of the Sorrows, referring to the Virgin's Seven Sorrows. Lola is the household diminutive of that name; the sorrowful sense belongs to the devotional title, not to everyday use of Lola.
María de los Dolores → Dolores → Lola → Lolita
How it traveled
The name grew out of Spanish Catholic devotion: girls were named María de los Dolores for the Virgin's Sorrows, and Dolores was clipped in family speech to Lola, with Lolita as a further step down. By the nineteenth century Lola was circulating well beyond Spanish-speaking households, carried by stage performers and travelers into English, French and German use.
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
Leia
LAY-ah
LAY-ah is the usual American pronunciation, following the film. LEE-ah is also heard, especially from people reading it as a version of Leah, and both are defensible — worth deciding early which one your family says.
- Lei — Informal clipping; also stands alone as a Hawaiian given name.
- Lia — Used both as a short form and as an independent given name across Italian, Portuguese and Dutch.
- Lea — Doubles as a full given name in German, French and Scandinavian records.
- Lele — Family-level nickname, mostly heard in Portuguese-speaking households.
- Also Lee.
Lola
LOH-luh
Stress on the first syllable. In Spanish and French both vowels are fuller: LOH-lah. Spelling almost never needs to be repeated.
- Lo — The commonest informal trim, used within families rather than on paper.
- Lolo — Playful doubling used mostly with young children; note it means grandfather in Tagalog.
- Lolita — The traditional Spanish diminutive of Lola; now carries the association with Nabokov's novel in English.
- Lols — A casual British-style trim, mostly among peers and in texting.
- Also Dolores.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Leia if you want…
- a name fewer children share#297 in 2025 — leia will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a newer arrivalLeia entered the US charts in 1949
Choose Lola if you want…
- a name most people already know#275 in 2025, 1,132 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsLola is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooLola is on the national lists of France and England & Wales
- a long American recordLola 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
Leia
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and no silent letters — easy for a young child to write and easy to say once heard.
- Documented in Hebrew, Greek, Portuguese and Hawaiian traditions, so it is recognizable well beyond English.
- A widely known cultural reference means almost no one needs the spelling explained twice.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations, LAY-ah and LEE-ah, mean the name will occasionally be said the way you did not intend. A quick correction usually settles it, but the correcting never quite stops.
- The Star Wars association is immediate and permanent for a great many people, and it will draw comments — affectionate ones, mostly, but frequent.
- Leah, Lea, Lia and Léia are all in circulation, so forms and email addresses will sometimes come back with the wrong one.
Lola
Strengths
- Four letters, one obvious spelling, and it is read correctly on sight by English, Spanish and French speakers alike.
- An unbroken record in American use stretching back well over a century, so it reads as inherited rather than newly coined.
- Also charts in France and in England & Wales, which makes it travel well.
To consider
- In Tagalog, lola means grandmother — a warm word, but if your family or community is Filipino, expect that double meaning to come up often.
- The traditional diminutive Lolita now carries the association with Nabokov's novel in English, which is worth knowing before it arrives from someone else's mouth.
- It is already a nickname, so there is not much left to shorten. Some parents like the finality of that; others miss having a longer version to grow into.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Leia
40%chance Leia feels dated by 2040
Leia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Lola
25%chance Lola feels dated by 2040
Lola peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
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 Leia and Lola 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- The steadiest names in America
- Hawaiian names full of ocean light
- Star Wars names in the American record
- Science-fiction names in real use
- all guides
Where Leia and Lola each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leia or Lola — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leia or Lola?
- Lola, in 2025: Lola ranked #275 with 1,132 babies; Leia ranked #297 with 1,033 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leia or Lola?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Leia moved down 1 place; Lola moved down 39 places.
- Which is the older name, Leia or Lola?
- Leia entered the US charts in 1949; Lola was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Lola is the older name.
- How many people are named Leia and Lola?
- About 18,500 people named Leia are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 46,500 people named Lola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Leias or Lolas in the classroom?
- Leia will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lola 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
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