Leotis
Masculine
Leotis is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 887 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Leotis joins a Latin lion to an English surname and comes out looking classical without being classical at all. Both halves are real names; the combination was made here.
How old is the name Leotis?
Leotis first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Leotis alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 600 people named Leotis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leotis most popular?
Leotis peaked in 1949, reaching #1462 nationally. See the whole 1949 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Leotis
The lion half has an unusual record. Thirteen popes have taken it, more than any other name except John and Gregory, and the first of them is the one who met Attila outside Rome and is said to have talked him into turning back — an encounter that painters have been reconstructing ever since without anyone knowing what was actually said. Leo is also the only animal among the papal names, which is odd for an office that favors the abstract, and it is one of the very few Latin words that has come down into English unchanged in spelling and meaning. A name built with that at the front is starting from a strong position, whatever the other half is doing.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The front is Leo, the Latin word for a lion, which has been a name since antiquity. The back matches the English surname Otis. No source records the compound, which means it was built rather than inherited — and built names have origins even when they do not have etymologies.
Pronouncing Leotis
lee-OH-tis
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. LEE-uh-tis, with the weight at the front, is also used.
Nicknames for Leotis
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 194925 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1462reached in 1949
- Change vs 2008
- +20.0%6 in 2013, from 5
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.
Leotiss among us
people named Leotis 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
Leotis 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
- It contains two complete names and can be shortened to either.
- It sounds formal and substantial without being difficult.
- It is genuinely rare while using no unfamiliar sound.
- It will be heard as Leon, Otis or Lotus by people working from sound.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
- No dictionary holds the compound, so any meaning offered for it was invented.
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Leotis
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Leotiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Leotis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leotis in 2025?
- Leotis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Leotis with classmates?
- Leotis 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 Leotis? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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