How Many People Are Named Leah?
An estimated 225,020 people in the United States have the first name Leah. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #236 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 28 years old, and Leah peaked in popularity in 2009 with 6,799 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Leah as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Leah paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Leah is overwhelmingly female, 467 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
225,020
About 1 in 1,523 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
28
years old
Peak Year
2009
6,799 births
Total Registered
253,034
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Leah
Leah is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 253,034 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Leah as a male name
Ranked #11,708 in 2022
6 male births in 2022
Peak: 1989 (24 births)
Leah as a female name
Ranked #53 in 2024
3,969 female births in 2024
Peak: 2009 (6,790 births)
Leah: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Leah span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 56,099 babies were registered. While Leah is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Leah by Decade
How has Leah tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 809 | 0 | 809 | |
| 1890s | 1,671 | 0 | 1,671 | |
| 1900s | 1,747 | 0 | 1,747 | |
| 1910s | 4,253 | 0 | 4,253 | |
| 1920s | 4,453 | 0 | 4,453 | |
| 1930s | 3,539 | 0 | 3,539 | |
| 1940s | 3,495 | 0 | 3,495 | |
| 1950s | 5,960 | 0 | 5,960 | |
| 1960s | 12,774 | 32 | 12,742 | |
| 1970s | 21,222 | 76 | 21,146 | |
| 1980s | 36,212 | 155 | 36,057 | |
| 1990s | 34,139 | 39 | 34,100 | |
| 2000s | 45,509 | 80 | 45,429 | |
| 2010s | 56,099 | 69 | 56,030 | |
| 2020s | 21,152 | 16 | 21,136 | |
Leah by State
Birth registrations for Leah span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska. On average, about 4,817 Leahs were registered per state.
Leah + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Leah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Leah
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Leah: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leah?
We estimate approximately 225,020 people named Leah are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,523 Americans share this first name.
Is Leah a common name?
Leah is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 253,034 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Leah most popular?
Leah reached peak popularity in 2009, when 6,799 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Leah is approximately 28 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Leah a female name?
Leah is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Leah Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Leah Smith, Leah Johnson, Leah Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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