Leia
Meaning
variant of Leah, weary, or delicate (Old Testament matriarch); immortalized by Princess Leia in Star Wars (1977)
The story
Leia is usually traced to Leah, the Old Testament matriarch whose Hebrew name is traditionally read as weary or delicate, though almost nobody thinks of that now. In 1977 Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia arrived in Star Wars: a senator, a rebel leader, a princess who grabbed the blaster and rescued her own rescuers. Yet here is the curious part of the American record: 1977 itself produced only a flicker. The real climb came a generation later, gathering through the 2000s and surging in the 2010s, just as the children who grew up on the films began naming daughters of their own and new Star Wars movies returned to theaters. The timing is suggestive rather than provable, but the result is plain enough: Leia now stands at its strongest level ever, a space-opera princess turned genuine American name.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Leia peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
24,550 people · the #929 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 8,264 · median age 44
Among people named Leia living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 146 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Leia
Most people given the name Leia in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Leia deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Leia truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Leia fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Leia · Iconic movie character names · Short names
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