How Many People Are Named Leigh?
An estimated 38,138 people in the United States have the first name Leigh. It is used for both genders, with 88.7% female. The average bearer is 51 years old, and Leigh peaked in popularity in 1969 with 1,640 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Leigh 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 Leigh paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Leigh has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
- Leigh has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
38,138
About 1 in 8,987 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
88.7% confidence
Average Age
51
years old
Peak Year
1969
1,640 births
Total Registered
45,319
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Leigh
Leigh is predominantly female (88.7%), though 5,107 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Leigh as a male name
Ranked #13,367 in 2023
5 male births in 2023
Peak: 1955 (126 births)
Leigh as a female name
Ranked #3,421 in 2024
46 female births in 2024
Peak: 1969 (1,563 births)
Leigh: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Leigh span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 12,011 babies were registered. Leigh has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Leigh by Decade
How has Leigh 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 | 33 | 33 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 50 | 50 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 16 | 16 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 270 | 221 | 49 | |
| 1920s | 472 | 371 | 101 | |
| 1930s | 537 | 410 | 127 | |
| 1940s | 1,590 | 799 | 791 | |
| 1950s | 5,024 | 943 | 4,081 | |
| 1960s | 11,473 | 768 | 10,705 | |
| 1970s | 12,011 | 600 | 11,411 | |
| 1980s | 9,050 | 591 | 8,459 | |
| 1990s | 3,156 | 171 | 2,985 | |
| 2000s | 837 | 69 | 768 | |
| 2010s | 556 | 43 | 513 | |
| 2020s | 244 | 22 | 222 | |
Leigh by State
Birth registrations for Leigh span all 49 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, New York, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Montana, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 783 Leighs were registered per state.
Leigh + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Leigh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Leigh
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Leigh: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leigh?
We estimate approximately 38,138 people named Leigh 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 8,987 Americans share this first name.
Is Leigh a common name?
Leigh is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 45,319 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Leigh most popular?
Leigh reached peak popularity in 1969, when 1,640 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Leigh is approximately 51 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Leigh a female name?
Leigh is predominantly female. 88.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Leigh Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Leigh Smith, Leigh Johnson, Leigh 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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