Leo

Latin

"lion"

Leo Origin and Meaning

The name Leo is a boy's name of German, Latin origin meaning "lion".

Leo is a strong-yet-friendly name that was common among the Romans, used for thirteen popes, and is now at its highest point ever in the US thanks in part to Leonardo "Leo" DiCaprio.

Derived from the Latin meaning "lion", Leo is one of those names, like Luke and Finn, that many people assume must be short for something but that is authentically a complete name in its own right. That said, Leo can but short for any number of names, from Leonardo in Latinate languages to Leon and Leopold in Germanic languages. We've even heard of little girl Leonoras and Leonies called Leo: How cute is that?

Leo's simplicity makes it an international star, ranking in the Top 100 in countries as diverse as Ireland and Israel, Spain and Sweden, Austria and Australia. Leo is a truly diverse name, a perfect choice for any family crossing countries or blending cultures.

Leo's only real downside is its universal popularity and familiarity. If you call your child Leo, you and they will almost certainly encounter many other Leos over the years of all types and ages. Plus or minus? Or both?

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem called their son Leo, as did actress Kim Raver, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and Kristin Olson.

Famous Leos of the past include Pope Leo the Great, a number of early saints, and Leo Tolstoy, as well as Dead End Kid Gorcey, colorful baseball manager Durocher, influential gallerist Castelli and the leonine MGM icon. There have been Leos seen on everything from The West Wing to Charmed to Grey's Anatomy to Seinfeld's Uncle Leo.

Leo Rank in US Top 1000

# 18 in the US

Leo Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 27 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Leo

• 18 US 2023
• 27 Nameberry 2025
• 4 Canada 2023
• 11 Future 2035
• 5 England 2023
• 5 Scotland 2024
• 22 Ireland 2024
• 6 Australia 2024
• 3 New Zealand 2024
• 13 Germany 2024
• 4 Spain 2023
• 380 Mexico 2021
• 8 Sweden 2024
• 36 Norway 2024
• 49 Denmark 2023
• 6 Finland 2023
• 52 Belgium 2023
• 6 Switzerland 2023
• 11 Austria 2023
• 49 Poland 2024
• 21 Slovenia 2023
• 57 Israel 2023
• 23 Croatia 2023
• 9 Dogs 2023
• 2 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Leo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Leo.

• Theo
• Oliver
• Levi
• Milo
• Noah
• Theodore
• Elliot
• Miles
• Finn
• Luca
• Sebastian
• Eli
• Ezra
• Elijah
• James
• Felix
• Jasper
• Lucas
• Charlie
• Jack

Famous People Named Leo

• Saint Leo of Catania Italian bishop
• Leo I XIII, popes
• Leo I VI, Byzantine Emperors
• Leo I V, Kings of Armenia
• (Georg) Leo Graf von Caprivi Chancellor of Germany
• Leonardo Wilhelm "Leo" DiCaprio American actor and producer
• Leo Howard American actor
• Leo Gordon Laporte American broadcaster and author
• Leo Joseph Ryan U.S. Congressman from California
• Lev "Leo" Nikolayevich Tolstoy Russian novelist
• Leo Arnaud French composer
• Leo Bernard Gorcey American actor
• Leo Gratten Carroll English actor
• (Clément Philibert) Léo Delibes French composer
• Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender American guitar maker
• Leo de Berardinis Italian actor
• Leo Freiherr von König German painter
• Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer British,Australian singer,songwriter
• Leo Ku (Kui Kei), Hong Kong pop singer
• Leo Melamed American attorney; chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
• Leo Szilard Hungarian,American physicist and inventor
• Joseph Viateur "Léo" Dandurand Canadian businessman and NHL team owner
• Leo stage name of Jung Taekwoon of Korean boy band VIXX
• Lionel "Leo" Messi Argentine footballer
• Leo Burke ring name of Leonce Cormier, Canadian pro wrestler
• Leo Kipling Boyer (b. 2007) son of actors Kim Raver and Manuel Boyer
• Leo Benjamin Gordon (b. 2010) son of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon
• Leonardo "Leo" Encinas Cruz (b. 2011) son of actor Javier Bardem and actress Penelope Cruz
• Leo Grey McElhenney (b. 2012) son of actors Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney
• Leo Ezra Egan (b. 2015) late son of TV chef Kelsey Nixon and Robby Egan
• Leo Streitenfeld (b. 2009) son of actress Julie Delpy and composer Marc Streitenfeld
• Leo Powell (b. 2011) son of actor Drew Powell
• Leo James Routh (b. 2012) son of actors Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford
• Leo Federer (b. 2014) son of tennis player Roger Federer
• Leo Thames Newman (b. 2015) son of actress and model Jaime King
• Leo Hijazi (b.2017) son Jaime Pressly and Hamzi Hijazi. Twin brother to Lenon Hijazi
• Leo James Maguire (b. 2017) son of English actor Sean Maguire
• Leo Hardy son of Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley.

The name Leo in Pop Culture

• Leo Valdez from Rick Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" book series
• Uncle Leo Jerry's Uncle on 'Seinfeld'
• Leo Wyatt Charmed
• Leo a Zodiac sign
• Leo McGarry fictional character on the television serial drama The West Wing
• Leo Foxe Donnell, character in the novel 'A Nest of Simple Folk'
• Leo Plumb character in novel "The Nest"
• Leo Biederman from movie "Deep Impact" played by Elijah Wood
• Leopold "Leo" Fitz a character on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Leo Koenig from the movie "Funny People"
• Leo Francis Dooley a character on the Disney XD show Lab Rats
• Leo Fitzgerald character in The Willow Falls series by Wendy Mass
• Leo Borlock character in Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl
• Leo character portrayed by Tommy Chong on That '70s Show
• Leo the Lion 'Loke,' a celestial spirit in the manga/anime, 'Fairy Tail'
• Leo Hendrie character from the TV series "Chasing Life", played by Scott Michael Foster
• Leo Roth character on the Red Band Society played by Charlie Rowe
• Leo Spitz character from the movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
• Leo Castellano The Mindy Project (Mindy and Danny's son)
• Leo Callisto Father in the Disney Jr cartoon series "Miles from Tomorrowland"
• Leo from the video game Fire Emblem: Fates.
• Leo de la Iglesia American skater from the anime 'Yuri!!! on Ice'.
• Leo Byler character from the movie "Mute"
• Leo Cruz character from Netflix's "Greenhouse Academy"

International Variations of the name Leo

• Leão Portuguese
• Léo French
• Leone Italian
• Leonello Italian
• Leonzio Italian
• Lev Russian
• Leos Slavic
• Lio Hawaiian