Lionel - Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. lio-nel, li-on-el ] The boy name Lionel is pronounced as LAYahNahL †. Lionel is used predominantly in the English and French languages, and it is derived from Latin origins. The name is of the meaning young lion.

In addition, Lionel is a variant form (English and French) of the name Leo (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Czech, and Hawaiian).

Leonel (English and Spanish), Lionell (English), Lonell (English), and Lonnell (English) are variant forms of Lionel. Lyonel (English variant spelling) is another form of Lionel. See also the related form, Liona (English and Hawaiian).

Lionel is an unusual baby name for boys. Its usage peaked modestly in 1934 with 0.032% of baby boys being given the name Lionel. Its ranking then was #297. The baby name has since experienced a steep loss in popularity, and is currently of irregular use. In 2008, among the group of boy names directly linked to Lionel, Leo was the most popular.

Baby names that sound like Lionel include Lionell (English), Leonel (English and Spanish), Leonello (Italian), Lyonel (English), Lemuel (English), Lonell (English), and Lonnell (English).

Details of famous persons named Lionel:
Jazz Musician Lionel Hampton, born 20 April 1908 - 31 August 2002, Louisville, Kentucky.
Pop Musician Lionel Richie, born 20 June 1949, Tuskegee, Alabama.
Soccer Player Lionel Messi, born 24 June 1987, Rosario, Argentina.

† Pronunciation for Lionel: L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AY as in "hide (HH.AY.D)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)"

Popularity Trend
for Lionel
from 1900 to 2008

Variant Popularity Chart
for Lionel
in 2008