Leman
Masculine · “From the English surname Leman”
Leman is a rare English surname used as a boy's first name in the early twentieth century. It shares its letters with the French name of Lake Geneva and with a Belgian general whose stand at Liège in 1914 became a legend.
How old is the name Leman?
Leman first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Leman alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 200 people named Leman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leman most popular?
Leman peaked in 1937, reaching #1403 nationally. See the whole 1937 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Leman
When the German army invaded Belgium in August 1914, General Gérard Leman commanded the ring of forts around Liège; the forts held out for eleven days, and Leman was pulled unconscious from the ruins of the last one, delaying the German advance at a crucial moment. The Romans called Lake Geneva Lacus Lemannus, and French speakers still call it Lac Léman. In America Leman was a surname before it was a first name, given to boys in the early twentieth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
From the English surname Leman
The surname Leman may come from Middle English leman, 'sweetheart', or from a personal name; the lake name is a separate word from Latin Lemannus.
Pronouncing Leman
LEE-mun
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some families say LEM-un.
Nicknames for Leman
Limited
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 193723 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1403reached in 1937
- Change vs 1990
- −16.7%5 in 1997, from 6
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.
Leman in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Léman in French — related form
Lemans among us
people named Leman 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
Leman 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 unusual.
- Carries a notable historical bearer.
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- People will hear lemon and may joke about it.
- Two pronunciations are possible; say which one early.
- It reads as an early-twentieth-century name.
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Leman
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Lemans 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 Leman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leman in 2025?
- Leman is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Leman with classmates?
- Leman 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 Leman? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leman and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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