Leola
Feminine · “lion”
Leola is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 28,129 girls against 52 boys since 1880.
Leola is a lion with a diminutive ending. Leo is the Latin word and the name of thirteen popes; Leola is what nineteenth-century American families made of it when they wanted a daughter's version.
How old is the name Leola?
Leola was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leola alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 6,200 people named Leola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leola most popular?
Leola peaked in 1905, reaching #166 nationally. Today it ranks #6546, 6,380 places below that high. See the whole 1905 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From leo to Leola
The story of Leola
Leo was a name of emperors and popes, and by the nineteenth century it was in ordinary use across Europe and America. Feminines were built on it everywhere: Leona, Leonie, Leola, Leola's cousin Leontine. American families favored the -ola ending in that period, producing Leola, Viola, Lenola and Ola alongside each other. Leola rose through the 1880s and peaked in the first two decades of the twentieth century.
Meaning
lion
From the Latin leo, 'lion', with the -ola ending that Latin and its descendants use to make something smaller or dearer. The name is therefore something like 'little lioness' — a construction rather than an inherited word, but built with real Latin parts.
How the name formed
- leo
- Leo
- Leola
Related forms: Leola · Leona · Léonie
Pronouncing Leola
lee-OH-luh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Some American families said LEE-oh-luh with the stress at the front; both are recorded.
Nicknames for Leola
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1921789 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #166reached in 1905
- Change vs 2022
- −54.1%17 in 2025, from 37
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.
Leola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leola in Italian — same name
- Leona in English — related form
- Léonie in French — related form
Leolas among us
people named Leola are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 94,545 born in 2025 was named Leola
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
Leola 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
Leola beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leola in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is concrete, vivid and completely transparent.
- Three syllables with a strong middle, a rhythm that carries well.
- Lee and Ola are both available and are very different in feel.
- The stress placement is genuinely unsettled between the first and second syllable.
- It is strongly period-coded to the turn of the last century.
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What they receive
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Leola
Feminine · #6546 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leolas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,200 people named Leola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leola in 2025?
- Leola ranks #6546 among US girl names in 2025, with 17 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leola?
- About 1 in every 94,545 US girls born in 2025 was named Leola — 17 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leola with classmates?
- Leola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leola
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Roseann#6546 · Solveig#6546 · Elona#6546 · Rosette#6546 · Bradie#6546 · Rida#6546 · Gwendalyn#6546 · Lorene#6546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leola? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leola and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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