Lea
Masculine · “From Hebrew Leah”
Lea is given to girls far more often — 33,848 girls against 620 boys since 1880. See Lea as a girl name
Lea has two roads to it: the French Léa, from the Hebrew Leah, and the old English poetic word for a meadow. The meadow word lives in one of the most famous opening lines in English poetry, and a London river of the same name runs through the first pages of the most famous book about fishing.
How old is the name Lea?
Lea first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Lea alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 200 people named Lea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lea most popular?
Lea peaked in 1895, reaching #872 nationally. See the whole 1895 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Leah to Lea
The story of Lea
Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, first published in 1653, opens with three men walking north out of London up the River Lea on a May morning, talking about fishing, and the river is still a haunt of anglers. A century later Thomas Gray began his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard with 'The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, / The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea', and the word has meant a quiet meadow to English readers ever since. As a given name Lea has been in American use since records began, often as the French form of Leah.
Meaningscholars disagree
From Hebrew Leah, or English lea, 'meadow'
As a form of Leah the meaning is disputed; as an English word, lea is a meadow or open grassland. The spelling serves both.
How the name formed
- Leah
- Léa
- Lea
Related forms: Léa · Leah · Lea · Lea
Pronouncing Lea
LEE-uh
Most Americans say LEE-uh; some families say LEE, like the English word.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 192521 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #872reached in 1895
- Change vs 1988
- −28.6%5 in 1989, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Lea in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Léa in French — same name
- Leah in Hebrew — related form
- Lea in German — same name
- Lea in Italian — same name
Leas among us
people named Lea are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Lea sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and simple.
- Used across French, German, Italian and English.
- A long American history.
- Two pronunciations are common, LEE and LEE-uh.
- People will write Leah.
- The spelling is recorded for a handful of boys, but it is a girl's name in every tradition behind it.
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What they receive
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Lea
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Leas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Lea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lea in 2025?
- Lea is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lea with classmates?
- Lea will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lea? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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