Head to head · Boys' names
Leonardo vs Robert
#91 vs #92 in 2025
Leonardo is a whisker ahead (#91 vs #92 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leonardo is holding its place on the charts, Robert 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, Robert leads 3 measures of 6; Leonardo 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: Leonardo #936, Robert #9 — Robert higher
- 1890s: Leonardo —, Robert #8 — Robert higher
- 1900s: Leonardo #1048, Robert #6 — Robert higher
- 1910s: Leonardo #1130, Robert #4 — Robert higher
- 1920s: Leonardo #974, Robert #2 — Robert higher
- 1930s: Leonardo #998, Robert #1 — Robert higher
- 1940s: Leonardo #925, Robert #2 — Robert higher
- 1950s: Leonardo #780, Robert #3 — Robert higher
- 1960s: Leonardo #651, Robert #5 — Robert higher
- 1970s: Leonardo #515, Robert #7 — Robert higher
- 1980s: Leonardo #488, Robert #9 — Robert higher
- 1990s: Leonardo #359, Robert #20 — Robert higher
- 2000s: Leonardo #199, Robert #40 — Robert higher
- 2010s: Leonardo #117, Robert #64 — Robert higher
- 2020s: Leonardo #85, Robert #86 — Leonardo higher
Robert stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Leonardo took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leonardo | Robert |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #936 | #9 |
| 1890s | — | #8 |
| 1900s | #1048 | #6 |
| 1910s | #1130 | #4 |
| 1920s | #974 | #2 |
| 1930s | #998 | #1 |
| 1940s | #925 | #2 |
| 1950s | #780 | #3 |
| 1960s | #651 | #5 |
| 1970s | #515 | #7 |
| 1980s | #488 | #9 |
| 1990s | #359 | #20 |
| 2000s | #199 | #40 |
| 2010s | #117 | #64 |
| 2020s | #85 | #86 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Leonardo
Not charting outside the US.
Robert
- Scotland#86
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Leonardo
Brave lion, or lion-strong
From the Germanic elements lewo, 'lion' (itself borrowed from Latin leo), and hard, 'brave, hardy, strong'.
Leonhard → Leonardus → Leonard → Leonardo
How it traveled
The name began as Germanic Leonhard and spread through Latin as Leonardus, largely on the strength of Saint Leonard of Noblac, a Frankish hermit venerated across medieval Europe as a protector of prisoners. Italian speakers reshaped it as Leonardo, and it took deep root in Tuscany and beyond — the Renaissance produced both Leonardo da Vinci and the humanist historian Leonardo Bruni.
Robert
Bright fame
From the Germanic elements hrod, 'fame', and beraht, 'bright'.
Hrodebert → Hrodberht → Robert (Old French) → Robert → Roberto
How it traveled
The name began as Old High German Hrodebert, one of a large family of Frankish names built on hrod, 'fame'. Norman French smoothed it to Robert, and the Conquest brought it to England, where it displaced the native Old English Hreodbeorht almost entirely.
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
Leonardo
lee-oh-NAR-doh
In Italian, Spanish and Portuguese the first vowel is closer to 'leh': leh-oh-NAR-do. Both are widely understood in the United States, and the spelling gives almost no one trouble.
- Leo — The most common short form in English, Italian and Spanish alike, and a well-established given name in its own right.
- Nardo — Informal, chiefly in Italian and Spanish-speaking families.
- Leon — Used informally in English; also a standalone given name with its own separate history.
- Lele — An Italian familiar form, used at home rather than on documents.
Robert
ROB-ert
Stress on the first syllable in English. French speakers say roh-BEHR with a silent final t, and Italian and Spanish Roberto shifts the stress to the middle.
- Rob — The plainest short form, used across all age groups and often the everyday name of someone formally called Robert.
- Bob — Comes from a medieval habit of rhyming a nickname off its first syllable, the same way Rick gave Dick. Strongly tied to men of older generations.
- Robbie — Affectionate form used in childhood and often kept into adulthood; common in Scotland and Ireland and given as a name on its own.
- Bobby — Informal and familiar, widespread in mid-century America and also registered independently as a given name.
- Also Robin, Bert.
Who has carried each name
Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci (b. 1452) — Painted the Mona Lisa, designed flying machines — the original Renaissance man
Leonardo DiCaprio (b. 1974) — Titanic star and Oscar winner
Robert
Robert De Niro (b. 1943) — Two-time Oscar winner (The Godfather Part II, Raging Bull)
Robert Frost (b. 1874) — "The Road Not Taken" poet with four Pulitzers
Robert Louis Stevenson (b. 1850) — Wrote Treasure Island
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 Leonardo if you want…
- a name with more sound in itLeonardo runs 4 syllables, Robert 2
- a newer arrivalLeonardo entered the US charts in 1885
- a name that feels very nowLeonardo is holding its place on the charts
Choose Robert if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesRobert is 2 syllables to Leonardo's 4
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Rob, Bob and Robbie
- a name that charts abroad tooRobert is on the national lists of Scotland
- a long American recordRobert 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
Leonardo
Strengths
- Spelled identically in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English, so it crosses borders and family languages without adaptation.
- Comes with Leo already attached — a short form so established it works as a full name on its own.
- A documented record running from medieval saints' calendars through the Renaissance to the present day, unbroken.
To consider
- The associations are enormous: a Renaissance polymath and a very famous living actor. Your son will hear about both, probably often.
- Leonardo is also one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which schoolchildren tend to know before they know the painter.
- Most people will reach for Leo within a week, and Leo is currently well used on its own — so the nickname may feel less distinctive than the full name.
Robert
Strengths
- A spelling everyone already knows: no need to repeat it on the phone, in any English-speaking country.
- An unbroken record in English of about a thousand years, through every change of naming fashion since the Norman Conquest.
- An unusually deep bench of short forms — Rob, Bob, Robbie, Bobby, Bert — so the everyday name can be chosen later.
To consider
- Most Roberts alive in the US are grandparents or great-grandparents, so the name reads as an older man's name to many people — though that is exactly what has kept it fresh for a new generation.
- Bob and Bobby carry a distinctly mid-century sound, and you may find relatives reaching for them whether or not you intended a nickname.
- Famous bearers span poets, composers and scientists but also a long-ruling head of state whose record is heavily criticized; with a name this widely used, no single association dominates.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Leonardo
40%chance Leonardo feels dated by 2040
Leonardo 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.
Robert
12%chance Robert feels dated by 2040
Robert has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Leonardo and Robert 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 Leonardo and Robert?
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 Leonardo and Robert — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leonardo or Robert — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leonardo or Robert?
- Leonardo, in 2025: Leonardo ranked #91 with 3,789 babies; Robert ranked #92 with 3,772 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leonardo or Robert?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Leonardo moved down 5 places; Robert moved down 12 places.
- Which is the older name, Leonardo or Robert?
- Leonardo entered the US charts in 1885; Robert was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Robert is the older name.
- How many people are named Leonardo and Robert?
- About 93,000 people named Leonardo are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 2,678,000 people named Robert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Leonardos or Roberts in the classroom?
- Leonardo will almost certainly be the only one in school. Robert 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 Leonardo, Robert 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