Leighann
Feminine · “a clearing”
The eigh in Leigh is four letters producing one sound, which is roughly as inefficient as English spelling gets. It is a fossil: the gh once represented a consonant that English has not said for five hundred years, and the spelling stayed after the sound left. Leighann welds that to Ann, the plainest women's name in the language, and the contrast between the two halves is the whole character of the name.
How old is the name Leighann?
Leighann first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Leighann alive today was born around 1988, making them about 37 years old. About 3,300 people named Leighann are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leighann most popular?
Leighann peaked in 1986, reaching #1187 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 12,021 places below that high. See the whole 1986 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From leah to Leighann
The story of Leighann
Double names said as one unit are a real American institution, particularly in the South, and Ann was among the most-used second elements — Leigh Ann, Mary Ann, Ruth Ann, Jo Ann. Written down, those units fight with forms that have one box, and the space closes. Leighann appears in American records from the 1950s and peaks in the 1980s, which is when the Leigh spelling was at its most fashionable. The gh in it is doing nothing at all except carrying five centuries of English spelling inertia.
Meaning
a clearing, and grace
Leigh is the Old English leah, a clearing or glade in woodland — the same element that ends Ashley, Bradley and hundreds of English place names. Ann is the Greek form of the Hebrew Channah, meaning favor or grace. The two halves have nothing to do with each other and the compound has no single meaning.
How the name formed
- leah
- Leigh
- Leigh Ann
- Leighann
Pronouncing Leighann
LEE-AN
Two syllables with a stress on each, because it is being said as two names run together. The gh is entirely silent, as it is in Raleigh, Ashleigh and neighbor.
Nicknames for Leighann
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
- 1956
- Most girls named
- 1986119 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1187reached in 1986
- Change vs 2024
- −45.5%6 in 2025, from 11
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.
Leighanns among us
people named Leighann are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Leighann
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Phaedra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leighann's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Phaedra climbed just as high around 1971, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Phaedra's path sketches the road Leighann is walking now.
Leighann 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
Leighann beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leighann in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Both halves are complete standing names, so it shortens two ways.
- The Old English element in the first half has a concrete, easily pictured meaning.
- The closed spelling survives databases, which the spaced version often does not.
- Nine letters for two syllables is a great deal to dictate, and the gh will be questioned every time.
- Leigh Ann, Leeann, Leanne and Leighanne all appear in records.
- It belongs to a recognizable stretch of American naming and dates a woman accordingly.
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What they receive
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Leighann
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leighanns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Leighann are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leighann in 2025?
- Leighann ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leighann?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Leighann — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leighann with classmates?
- Leighann will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leighann
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Tressa#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leighann? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leighann and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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