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Leo

Latin
"lion"
Grace
By Grace
Updated Fri Nov 15 2024

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.

# 18 in the US

Leo Rank in US Top 1000

# 30 on Nameberry

Leo Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Leo Popularity

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.

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"