Leonidas
Masculine · “Son of the lion”
Four syllables that end in a soft hiss, and inside them a lion: Leonidas is the Greek word for lion given a patronymic ending, so it reads as "son of the lion." It has been spoken in Greek without interruption since antiquity, carried by a Spartan king at Thermopylae and by saints of the early church, and it still shortens, in one easy step, to Leo.
How old is the name Leonidas?
Leonidas was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leonidas is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 9,700 people named Leonidas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leonidas most popular?
Leonidas peaked in 2022, reaching #421 nationally. Today it ranks #510, 89 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Leonidas appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Λέων (Leōn) to Leonidas
The story of Leonidas
Leonidas is Greek, and its most famous bearer is Leonidas I, king of Sparta, who died in 480 BC holding the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian army — a stand retold by Herodotus and by nearly every generation since. The name stayed in continuous Greek use through the Christian centuries, borne by early martyrs and later carried into Orthodox naming tradition, where it remains ordinary in Greece today. English-speaking families picked it up during the classical revival, when parents in the American South in particular drew given names straight from Greek and Roman history alongside Homer and Virgil. The Thermopylae story has been retold repeatedly on film and in comics, most visibly in the 2006 film 300, and the name has kept company with those retellings.
Meaning
Son of the lion; lion-like
From Greek λέων (leōn), "lion," plus the patronymic suffix -idas, the same ending that turns a father's name into a son's.
How the name formed
- ΛέωνLeōn
- ΛεωνίδαςLeōnídas
- LeonidasLatin
- LeonidasEnglish
Related forms: Λεωνίδας · Леонид (Leonid) · Léonidas · Leónidas · Leônidas · Leonida
Pronouncing Leonidas
lee-ON-ih-das
Four syllables, stress on the second. Greek speakers say le-o-NEE-thas, with the stress on the third syllable and a soft th; both are correct in their own settings.
Nicknames for Leonidas
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
- 2020649 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #421reached in 2022
- Change vs 2023
- −7.4%591 in 2025, from 638
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.
Leonidas in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Λεωνίδας in Greek — same name
- Леонид (Leonid) in Russian — related form
- Léonidas in French — spelling variant
- Leónidas in Spanish — spelling variant
- Leônidas in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Leonida in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Leonidass among us
people named Leonidas are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,890 born in 2025 was named Leonidas
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 Emmitt test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leonidas's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Emmitt climbed just as high around 1905, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Emmitt's path sketches the road Leonidas is walking now.
Leonidas 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 Leonidas is headed
Leonidas should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Leonidas beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leonidas in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Comes with Leo already attached — a short form everyone knows how to spell, say and write on a lunchbox.
- Spelled the way it sounds in English: no silent letters, no competing variants in wide use.
- Documented in continuous use since antiquity, from Sparta through Greek Orthodox tradition to the present.
- Travels: Léonidas, Leônidas, Leónidas and Leonid are all recognizable to speakers of those languages.
- It is tied tightly to one story — the last stand at Thermopylae — and to the films built on it. Some families like that anchor; others would rather the name arrive without a battlefield attached.
- Expect confusion with Leonard, Leonardo and Leonid, and the occasional Leonidus in writing. The correction is quick, but it will be a lifelong one.
- Stress placement varies between English and Greek speakers, so a Greek-speaking relative and an American teacher may say it differently.
- At four syllables it is a formal-length name; in daily life most bearers will be called Leo, which is a common name in its own right.
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What they receive
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Leonidas
Masculine · #510 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leonidass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,700 people named Leonidas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leonidas in 2025?
- Leonidas ranks #510 among US boy names in 2025, with 591 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leonidas?
- About 1 in every 2,890 US boys born in 2025 was named Leonidas — 591 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leonidas with classmates?
- Leonidas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leonidas
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alonzo#511 · Johnathan#508 · Corbin#512 · Kyle#508 · Frank#513 · Cillian#507 · Alexis#513 · Gunner#506
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leonidas? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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