Leander
Masculine · “Lion man”
Leander is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 6,928 boys against 28 girls since 1880.
Leander comes straight out of Greek, built from the words for lion and man, and it has been carried by a sixth-century bishop of Seville and by the drowned lover of one of antiquity's most retold stories. In English it has the long, unhurried rhythm of lee-AN-der — three syllables that ask to be said all the way through.
How old is the name Leander?
Leander was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leander alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 4,100 people named Leander are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leander most popular?
Leander peaked in 1882, reaching #324 nationally. Today it ranks #1459, 1,135 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From Leandros to Leander
The story of Leander
The Greek name Leandros passed into Latin as Leander and from there into English. Its fame rests largely on the tale of Hero and Leander: he swam the Hellespont each night to reach Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, guided by the lamp she set burning, and drowned when a storm put the light out. The Greek poet Musaeus told it in late antiquity, Ovid gave it two verse letters, and Christopher Marlowe made it an English poem in the 1590s. The name also belonged to Saint Leander of Seville, the sixth-century bishop and elder brother of Isidore of Seville, which kept it alive across Spain and Italy in the forms Leandro and Léandre.
Meaning
Lion man
From Greek leon, 'lion', and the andr- stem meaning 'man'. The same andr- appears in Alexander and Andrew.
How the name formed
- Leandros
- Leander
- Leandro
Related forms: Leandros · Leandro · Leandro · Leandro · Léandre · Leander
Pronouncing Leander
lee-AN-der
Stress on the middle syllable in English. German speakers say it LAY-ahn-der with the stress at the front, and Spanish and Italian speakers will often reach for Leandro instead.
Nicknames for Leander
High
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2025122 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #324reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- +8.0%122 in 2025, from 113
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.
Leander in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leandros in Greek — transliteration
- Leandro in Spanish — same name
- Leandro in Italian — same name
- Leandro in Portuguese — same name
- Léandre in French — same name
- Leander in German — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Leanders among us
people named Leander are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 14,001 born in 2025 was named Leander
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Leander 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Leander is headed
Leander should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Leander beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leander in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A clear, settled meaning from two everyday Greek words, with no competing readings to explain.
- The story attached to it is a tragedy — Leander drowns. Most people won't know that, but anyone who studied Marlowe or Ovid will.
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What they receive
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Leander
Masculine · #1459 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leanders are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,100 people named Leander are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leander in 2025?
- Leander ranks #1459 among US boy names in 2025, with 122 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leander?
- About 1 in every 14,001 US boys born in 2025 was named Leander — 122 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leander with classmates?
- Leander will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leander
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jakobe#1459 · Giuseppe#1459 · Luther#1459 · Ross#1459 · Jai#1459 · Jaxen#1459 · Monte#1466 · Sire#1466
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leander? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leander and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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