Popularity of the name Leo, 1880–2025
Leo was at its most popular in 1903, when 636 boys were given the name: about 1 in 190 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #37. In 2025, 8,173 boys were named Leo, ranking #19. In all, Social Security counts 259,988 boys named Leo since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 2,136 girls named Leo.
- Peak year
- 1903
- Rank in 1903
- #37
- Babies in 1903
- 636
- Rank in 2025
- #19
- Total since 1880
- 259,988
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #91 in 2015 to #19 in 2025, with 4,603 boys named Leo in 2015 and 8,173 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Leo ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #24, with 47,481 boys given the name that decade. It started at #81 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 147 in 1880 (#92), 570 in 1900 (#46), 4,054 in 1920 (#48), 1,752 in 1940 (#112), 1,204 in 1960 (#230), 473 in 1980 (#367), 658 in 2000 (#388) and 7,229 in 2020 (#36).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 8,293, in 2022. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 2022 than for 1903, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #18, first reached in 2023.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Leo, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 147 | #92 |
| 1881 | 122 | #103 |
| 1882 | 146 | #99 |
| 1883 | 142 | #95 |
| 1884 | 192 | #84 |
| 1885 | 199 | #83 |
| 1886 | 240 | #73 |
| 1887 | 232 | #73 |
| 1888 | 353 | #57 |
| 1889 | 325 | #59 |
| 1890 | 393 | #49 |
| 1891 | 353 | #51 |
| 1892 | 444 | #49 |
| 1893 | 448 | #45 |
| 1894 | 515 | #41 |
| 1895 | 509 | #41 |
| 1896 | 497 | #47 |
| 1897 | 462 | #46 |
| 1898 | 588 | #39 |
| 1899 | 482 | #43 |
| 1900 | 570 | #46 |
| 1901 | 456 | #42 |
| 1902 | 551 | #43 |
| 1903 | 636 | #37 |
| 1904 | 552 | #42 |
| 1905 | 512 | #46 |
| 1906 | 508 | #47 |
| 1907 | 651 | #42 |
| 1908 | 584 | #49 |
| 1909 | 609 | #49 |
| 1910 | 707 | #51 |
| 1911 | 844 | #51 |
| 1912 | 1,654 | #49 |
| 1913 | 2,031 | #48 |
| 1914 | 2,655 | #47 |
| 1915 | 3,527 | #47 |
| 1916 | 3,621 | #47 |
| 1917 | 3,779 | #47 |
| 1918 | 4,036 | #48 |
| 1919 | 3,802 | #49 |
| 1920 | 4,054 | #48 |
| 1921 | 4,066 | #50 |
| 1922 | 3,901 | #51 |
| 1923 | 3,973 | #49 |
| 1924 | 3,990 | #51 |
| 1925 | 3,775 | #54 |
| 1926 | 3,552 | #54 |
| 1927 | 3,536 | #55 |
| 1928 | 3,095 | #61 |
| 1929 | 3,018 | #60 |
| 1930 | 3,035 | #63 |
| 1931 | 2,700 | #69 |
| 1932 | 2,500 | #74 |
| 1933 | 2,352 | #75 |
| 1934 | 2,309 | #86 |
| 1935 | 2,142 | #92 |
| 1936 | 2,017 | #94 |
| 1937 | 2,015 | #97 |
| 1938 | 1,952 | #104 |
| 1939 | 1,842 | #108 |
| 1940 | 1,752 | #112 |
| 1941 | 1,726 | #116 |
| 1942 | 1,800 | #120 |
| 1943 | 1,694 | #133 |
| 1944 | 1,592 | #132 |
| 1945 | 1,582 | #137 |
| 1946 | 1,647 | #147 |
| 1947 | 1,805 | #147 |
| 1948 | 1,718 | #151 |
| 1949 | 1,646 | #153 |
| 1950 | 1,554 | #160 |
| 1951 | 1,658 | #156 |
| 1952 | 1,558 | #171 |
| 1953 | 1,656 | #162 |
| 1954 | 1,613 | #172 |
| 1955 | 1,576 | #175 |
| 1956 | 1,550 | #184 |
| 1957 | 1,511 | #190 |
| 1958 | 1,428 | #195 |
| 1959 | 1,432 | #202 |
| 1960 | 1,204 | #230 |
| 1961 | 1,178 | #230 |
| 1962 | 1,100 | #232 |
| 1963 | 1,016 | #237 |
| 1964 | 1,028 | #233 |
| 1965 | 902 | #247 |
| 1966 | 856 | #244 |
| 1967 | 767 | #261 |
| 1968 | 695 | #279 |
| 1969 | 741 | #273 |
| 1970 | 701 | #294 |
| 1971 | 651 | #302 |
| 1972 | 550 | #326 |
| 1973 | 509 | #335 |
| 1974 | 511 | #340 |
| 1975 | 516 | #336 |
| 1976 | 481 | #348 |
| 1977 | 484 | #358 |
| 1978 | 478 | #352 |
| 1979 | 484 | #362 |
| 1980 | 473 | #367 |
| 1981 | 533 | #341 |
| 1982 | 483 | #366 |
| 1983 | 429 | #387 |
| 1984 | 430 | #396 |
| 1985 | 447 | #404 |
| 1986 | 415 | #422 |
| 1987 | 452 | #410 |
| 1988 | 451 | #426 |
| 1989 | 428 | #454 |
| 1990 | 431 | #477 |
| 1991 | 506 | #441 |
| 1992 | 469 | #462 |
| 1993 | 456 | #463 |
| 1994 | 474 | #462 |
| 1995 | 446 | #485 |
| 1996 | 447 | #482 |
| 1997 | 458 | #471 |
| 1998 | 527 | #434 |
| 1999 | 524 | #440 |
| 2000 | 658 | #388 |
| 2001 | 736 | #360 |
| 2002 | 809 | #338 |
| 2003 | 1,095 | #285 |
| 2004 | 1,239 | #265 |
| 2005 | 1,275 | #258 |
| 2006 | 1,501 | #235 |
| 2007 | 1,531 | #238 |
| 2008 | 1,628 | #228 |
| 2009 | 1,802 | #210 |
| 2010 | 1,946 | #191 |
| 2011 | 2,250 | #167 |
| 2012 | 2,879 | #134 |
| 2013 | 3,511 | #112 |
| 2014 | 3,976 | #97 |
| 2015 | 4,603 | #91 |
| 2016 | 5,299 | #74 |
| 2017 | 5,965 | #62 |
| 2018 | 6,773 | #50 |
| 2019 | 7,504 | #40 |
| 2020 | 7,229 | #36 |
| 2021 | 7,803 | #31 |
| 2022 | 8,293 | #22 |
| 2023 | 8,160 | #18 |
| 2024 | 7,823 | #24 |
| 2025 | 8,173 | #19 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.