How Many People Are Named Lionel?
An estimated 22,634 people in the United States have the first name Lionel. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 42 years old, and Lionel peaked in popularity in 2023 with 607 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lionel 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 Lionel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
22,634
About 1 in 15,143 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.9% confidence
Average Age
42
years old
Peak Year
2023
607 births
Total Registered
33,410
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lionel
Lionel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 33,410 total births registered, 99.9% were male.
Lionel as a male name
Ranked #561 in 2024
528 male births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (607 births)
Lionel as a female name
Ranked #11,978 in 1986
5 female births in 1986
Peak: 1981 (9 births)
Lionel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lionel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 3,674 babies were registered. While Lionel is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Lionel by Decade
How has Lionel 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 | 73 | 73 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 176 | 176 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 261 | 261 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,726 | 1,726 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 3,051 | 3,046 | 5 | |
| 1930s | 2,920 | 2,915 | 5 | |
| 1940s | 3,067 | 3,067 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 3,637 | 3,632 | 5 | |
| 1960s | 3,466 | 3,466 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 2,426 | 2,426 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 3,398 | 3,369 | 29 | |
| 1990s | 1,704 | 1,704 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,440 | 1,440 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 3,674 | 3,674 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 2,391 | 2,391 | 0 | |
Lionel by State
Birth registrations for Lionel span all 44 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Louisiana, California, Texas. The lowest are in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa. On average, about 615 Lionels were registered per state.
Lionel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lionel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lionel
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lionel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lionel?
We estimate approximately 22,634 people named Lionel 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 15,143 Americans share this first name.
Is Lionel a common name?
Lionel is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 33,410 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lionel most popular?
Lionel reached peak popularity in 2023, when 607 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lionel is approximately 42 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lionel a male name?
Lionel is predominantly male. 99.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lionel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lionel Smith, Lionel Johnson, Lionel 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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