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 [ 2 syll. leo, le-o ] The boy name Leo is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is LIYow KEY. Leo is a Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Czech, and Hawaiian name of Old Greek, Latin, and Germanic origin. Old Greek, Latin, and Germanic origin, Czech, English, German, and Hawaiian use: Derived literally from the element 'leo' meaning lion. The first name developed from the Late Latin nickname, and also from the short forms of other names starting with 'Leo-'. The name was borne by many early saints, including Pope Leo the Great (390-461), the first Pope to receive the title 'the Great'. There are at least thirteen popes with the name. The name is often associated with a 'lion-hearted' character, which is often the reason for its use. The name Leona (English and German) is the female equivalent of Leo. Leo is a widely used name; it has 26 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Leo used in English include Leon (used in Czech, German, French, Italian, Polish, and Spanish too), Leonel (used in Spanish too), Lew (used in Russian too), Lion, and Lionel (used in French too). Foreign variants of Leo include Leao (Portuguese), Leão (Portuguese), Leonardo (Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish), Leonas (Lithuanian), Leone (Italian), Leonello (Italian), Leonidas (Greek), Leos (Czech and Polish), Leosko (Czech), Lev (Czech, Russian, and Hebrew), Leva (Russian), Levka (Russian), Levko (Russian), Levnek (Polish), Levya (Russian), Léo (French), Léon (French and Spanish), Léonce (French), Lio (Hawaiian), Liutas (Lithuanian), and Lleó (Catalan and Czech). In addition, Leo is a short form of the name Leopold (English and German). Leo is also a Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian pet form of the name Leander (English and German). Leo is also a Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian short form of the name Leonard (English). Leo is a classic favorite. Currently it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though not to the extent it was previously, and it is also considered trendy. At the modest height of its usage in 1903, 0.492% of baby boys were given the name Leo. Its ranking then was #37. The baby name has since experienced a marked loss in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.074% and its ranking #227, enjoying a minor resurgence in the recent decade. Within all boy names in its group, Leo was the 2nd most popular after Leonardo (Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish). In 2008, it was 45% more regularly used than Leo. Leo has in the past century been predominantly given to boys. In 1920, Leo as a boy name outnumbered its use as a girl name by 74 times. Baby names that sound like Leo include Léo (French), Lleó (Catalan and Czech), Laya (Russian), Leao (Portuguese), Leão (Portuguese), Lewi (Hebrew), Lio (Hawaiian), Lisle (English), Llelo (Welsh), Louie (English), Louis (English and French), Lowell (English), Loyal (English), Luyu, Lyall (English), Lyell (English), Lal, Lao (Spanish), Law (English), and Lay (English). A famous person named Leo is Author, Leo Tolstoy, born 9 September 1828 - 20 November 1910, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula Province, Russia. KEY: Pronunciation for Leo: L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; OW as in "oat (OW.T)"   |
