Leah
Masculine · Hebrew roots · “Most often read as "weary”
Leah is given to girls far more often — 256,488 girls against 466 boys since 1880. See Leah as a girl name
Leah entered the US charts in 1962, peaked at #2426 in 1982, is rarely given in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Leah?
Leah first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Leah alive today was born around 1988, making them about 37 years old. About 400 people named Leah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leah most popular?
Leah peaked in 1982, reaching #2426 nationally. See the whole 1982 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Lēʾāh (Hebrew) to Leah
The story of Leah
The name is Hebrew, first recorded in the book of Genesis, where Leah is married to Jacob before her sister Rachel and becomes the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible wrote her as Leia; the Latin Vulgate settled on Lia, which is why Italian, Spanish and Portuguese still use that form. English took the Hebrew spelling back directly, and Leah spread through Protestant households from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries onward, when biblical names were read aloud at home. It has been in continuous Jewish use across that whole span too, in Hebrew and in Yiddish-speaking Europe.
Meaningscholars disagree
Most often read as "weary"; also read as "wild cow"
The traditional reading ties Leah to the Hebrew root la'ah, "to be weary or worn out." Semitic scholars have long proposed instead a link to an Akkadian word for cow, which would pair neatly with her sister Rachel, whose name means "ewe." Both readings are seriously held, and neither has pushed the other out.
How the name formed
- LēʾāhHebrew
- LeiaGreek Septuagint
- LiaLatin Vulgate
- LeahEnglish
Related forms: Léa · Lea · Lia · Lía · Le'ah · Liya
Pronouncing Leah
LEE-uh
LEE-uh is standard in American English. Elsewhere the same name is said LAY-ah — that is the usual Hebrew, German and French pronunciation — so expect a polite correction now and then when traveling or among speakers of those languages.
Nicknames for Leah
Moderate
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
- 1962
- Most boys named
- 198923 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2426reached in 1982
- Change vs 2020
- −40.0%6 in 2022, from 10
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.
Leah in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Léa in French — same name
- Lea in German — same name
- Lia in Italian — same name
- Lía in Spanish — same name
- Le'ah in Hebrew — transliteration
- Liya in Russian — transliteration
Leahs among us
people named Leah 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
Leah 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
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Leah
Masculine · Hebrew roots
Frequently asked
- How many Leahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Leah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leah in 2025?
- Leah is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Leah with classmates?
- Leah 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 Leah? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leah and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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