Leontine
Feminine · “Lion-like”
Leontine stacks a Latin and a French suffix on a Greek animal. The lion is Greek, the -ius that made it a Roman name is Latin, and the -ine that made it a woman's name is French; three languages have each added a layer without removing the one underneath.
How old is the name Leontine?
Leontine first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Leontine alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 200 people named Leontine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leontine most popular?
Leontine peaked in 1887, reaching #693 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From leon to Leontine
The story of Leontine
The animal has been misdescribed in English for as long as English has had a word for it. Lions do not live in jungles and never have: they are animals of open grassland, scrub and dry savannah, and the last wild population outside Africa is in a forest in Gujarat rather than in anything resembling jungle. The phrase king of the jungle appears in the nineteenth century and seems to come from confusing lions with tigers, which do live in dense forest. Medieval Europe knew the animal only from books and heraldry, drew it badly, and passed on the errors; the modern phrase is the last of them still in circulation.
Meaning
Lion-like
Greek leon, a lion, gave the Roman name Leontius, from which French made a feminine with its own diminutive ending. Every part of the chain is documented. The animal is the only element that carries a meaning; the two suffixes contribute grammar and register.
How the name formed
- leon
- Leontius
- Leontine
Related forms: Leontine · Leontine · Leontien
Pronouncing Leontine
LEE-un-teen
Three syllables with the stress at the front in American use and at the back in French. Both are heard, and the French pattern makes the name sound noticeably more formal.
Nicknames for Leontine
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
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 191731 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #693reached in 1887
- Change vs 1978
- −14.3%6 in 2015, from 7
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.
Leontine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leontine in French — same name
- Leontine in German — same name
- Leontien in Dutch — same name
Leontines among us
people named Leontine 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
Leontine 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
- Leo and Tina are two short forms that are both entirely current.
- The name is at home in French, German and Dutch with almost no change.
- The meaning is concrete and can be given to a child in one word.
- Two stress patterns are current and the spelling settles neither.
- It will be heard as Leontyne and Leontina, both of which exist.
- It is strongly dated to the nineteenth century in American records.
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What they receive
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Leontine
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Leontines 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 Leontine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leontine in 2025?
- Leontine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Leontine with classmates?
- Leontine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leontine? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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