Head to head · Girls' names
Leona vs London
#429 vs #431 in 2025
Leona is a whisker ahead (#429 vs #431 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leona is holding its place on the charts, London is stepping back from its peak.
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, Leona leads 5 measures of 6; London leads 1.
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: Leona #120, London — — Leona higher
- 1890s: Leona #100, London — — Leona higher
- 1900s: Leona #74, London — — Leona higher
- 1910s: Leona #78, London — — Leona higher
- 1920s: Leona #107, London — — Leona higher
- 1930s: Leona #151, London — — Leona higher
- 1940s: Leona #229, London — — Leona higher
- 1950s: Leona #369, London — — Leona higher
- 1960s: Leona #508, London #4711 — Leona higher
- 1970s: Leona #753, London #4114 — Leona higher
- 1980s: Leona #1093, London #2946 — Leona higher
- 1990s: Leona #1656, London #1132 — London higher
- 2000s: Leona #1519, London #541 — London higher
- 2010s: Leona #713, London #121 — London higher
- 2020s: Leona #494, London #301 — London higher
Leona stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; London has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leona | London |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #120 | — |
| 1890s | #100 | — |
| 1900s | #74 | — |
| 1910s | #78 | — |
| 1920s | #107 | — |
| 1930s | #151 | — |
| 1940s | #229 | — |
| 1950s | #369 | — |
| 1960s | #508 | #4711 |
| 1970s | #753 | #4114 |
| 1980s | #1093 | #2946 |
| 1990s | #1656 | #1132 |
| 2000s | #1519 | #541 |
| 2010s | #713 | #121 |
| 2020s | #494 | #301 |
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
Leona
Lioness; feminine of Leo, 'lion'
From Greek leōn and Latin leo, leonis, 'lion'. Leona is built on the Latin oblique stem that also gives Leon and Leonard.
leōn (Greek) → Leo → Leon → Leona
How it traveled
The root is the Greek word leōn, 'lion', which Latin took as leo, with the stem leon- showing up in every other case of the noun. That stem produced Leon as a given name across the Greek-speaking Christian world and, later, all of Latin Europe, where a long line of popes and Byzantine emperors carried Leo.
London
From the city of London; the city name's own meaning is not settled
Londinium is the oldest recorded form, and it is pre-Roman rather than Latin in origin. The reading with the most scholarly support today, argued by the place-name specialist Richard Coates, traces it to a Brittonic river name meaning something like 'the flowing one' or 'river too wide to ford.' Older explanations tried to find a personal name or a word for a hill fort in it. None has won the argument outright.
Londinium → Lundenwic → Lunden → London
How it traveled
The name begins as a settlement the Romans established on the Thames and called Londinium; the word itself is older than their arrival and its sense was already obscure by then. Through the Anglo-Saxon centuries it moved through Lundenwic and Lunden before settling into the spelling used now.
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
Leona
lee-OH-nuh
Stress falls on the middle syllable in English. Czech, Spanish and Polish speakers say lay-OH-na, with a cleaner first vowel.
- Lee — The oldest and plainest short form; also stands alone as a given name for women and men alike.
- Leo — The masculine name contained in Leona, used informally within families; also a boys' given name in strong current use.
- Nona — Clipped from the end rather than the front; informal, mostly a household name.
- Lonnie — Informal, associated with American usage in the mid-twentieth century; also independent as a given name.
- Also Ona.
London
LUN-dun
Stress on the first syllable. The o's both sound like the u in 'sun' — the spelling looks nothing like the sound, but the city has taught the whole English-speaking world how to say it.
- Lo — The most common informal short form, used at home and among friends.
- Lon — Informal clipping; also an independent given name in its own right, mostly among older generations of men.
- Lonnie — Casual diminutive; stands alone as a given name too, where it usually comes from Alonzo rather than London.
- Donnie — An affectionate family-made form drawn from the second syllable rather than the first; heard rarely and only informally.
One short form, two names
- Leona and London both shorten to Lonnie.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Leona if you want…
- a name on the way upup 54 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itLeona runs 3 syllables, London 2
- a long American recordLeona was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 68% for London
Choose London if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLondon is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesLondon is 2 syllables to Leona's 3
- a newer arrivalLondon entered the US charts in 1963
- a name that feels very nowLondon is stepping back from its peak
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
Leona
Strengths
- The meaning is settled and transparent — anyone who knows Leo can work out Leona, in almost any European language.
- Spells itself from the sound. Heard once, it is usually written correctly the first time.
- Short forms already exist and have for generations: Lee, Leo, Nona.
To consider
- Most living Leonas belong to the oldest generations, so some listeners will place it firmly in the past rather than the present. That gap is exactly what makes a name available again, but it is worth knowing before you say it aloud to relatives.
- It can be misheard as Leanna, Leonna or Fiona, and some people will put the stress on the first syllable. A single repetition usually fixes it.
- With Leo currently so visible for boys, Leona is often heard as 'the girls' version of Leo' rather than as its own name — fine if you like the pairing, less so if you wanted distance from it.
London
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are already known to almost everyone who reads English — no repeating, no correcting at the pharmacy counter.
- Recognizable in most languages, since the city carries its own name into French, Spanish, Italian and beyond.
- Works for a girl or a boy on the same spelling, with no change in form.
To consider
- Landon is a well-established boys' name that sits one vowel away, and the two get swapped in writing and in hearing. Expect to spell it out on forms more than the name's fame would suggest.
- Most children with this spelling are girls, so a boy named London will sometimes be assumed female on a roster or an email — usually a one-time correction, but a recurring one.
- It is unmistakably a place, and a famous one. Some people will ask about a family connection or make the 'London Bridge' joke; others will simply hear a name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Leona
40%chance Leona feels dated by 2040
Leona 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.
London
68%chance London feels dated by 2040
London is coming down from a big peak (#85 in 2013). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Leona and London 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 Leona and London?
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 these names appear on
- Animal names with teeth (and paws)
- Names that belong entirely to the 1900s
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Borrowed from the boys: names girls are winning
- all guides
Where Leona and London each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leona or London — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leona or London?
- Leona, in 2025: Leona ranked #429 with 723 babies; London ranked #431 with 719 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leona or London?
- Leona. Over the last five years Leona moved up 54 places; London moved down 238 places.
- Which is the older name, Leona or London?
- Leona was already in use when US records began in 1880; London entered the US charts in 1963. On the American record, Leona is the older name.
- How many people are named Leona and London?
- About 31,500 people named Leona are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 44,000 people named London are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Leona and London share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Lonnie, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. 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 Leona, London 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