How Many People Are Named Leon?
An estimated 96,015 people in the United States have the first name Leon. It is predominantly male (99.2%). The average bearer is 49 years old, and Leon peaked in popularity in 1924 with 2,714 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Leon 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 Leon paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Leon is overwhelmingly male, 1,436 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
96,015
About 1 in 3,570 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.2% confidence
Average Age
49
years old
Peak Year
1924
2,714 births
Total Registered
181,458
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Leon
Leon is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 181,458 total births registered, 99.2% were male.
Leon as a male name
Ranked #141 in 2024
2,547 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (2,677 births)
Leon as a female name
Ranked #13,007 in 2022
7 female births in 2022
Peak: 1920 (42 births)
Leon: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Leon span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 25,891 babies were registered. While Leon is less common than at its peak in the 1920s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Leon by Decade
How has Leon 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 | 1,475 | 1,475 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 2,149 | 2,103 | 46 | |
| 1900s | 2,942 | 2,859 | 83 | |
| 1910s | 15,506 | 15,280 | 226 | |
| 1920s | 25,891 | 25,577 | 314 | |
| 1930s | 23,189 | 23,005 | 184 | |
| 1940s | 23,693 | 23,577 | 116 | |
| 1950s | 21,469 | 21,342 | 127 | |
| 1960s | 13,953 | 13,824 | 129 | |
| 1970s | 9,969 | 9,854 | 115 | |
| 1980s | 7,698 | 7,625 | 73 | |
| 1990s | 5,186 | 5,176 | 10 | |
| 2000s | 5,062 | 5,062 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 11,766 | 11,766 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 11,510 | 11,497 | 13 | |
Leon by State
Birth registrations for Leon span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, California. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii. On average, about 3,354 Leons were registered per state.
Leon + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Leon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Leon
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Leon: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leon?
We estimate approximately 96,015 people named Leon 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 3,570 Americans share this first name.
Is Leon a common name?
Leon is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 181,458 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Leon most popular?
Leon reached peak popularity in 1924, when 2,714 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Leon is approximately 49 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Leon a male name?
Leon is predominantly male. 99.2% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Leon Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Leon Smith, Leon Johnson, Leon 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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