Lennon
Torn between Lennon and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
surname Ó Leannáin, traditionally "lover" or "cloak"
The story
Lennon is an Irish surname, from Ó Leannáin, built on leannán, the Irish word for a lover or sweetheart, one of the tenderest meanings hiding inside any surname. Almost nobody chooses it for the Irish, though; they choose it for John Lennon, the Beatle who wrote Imagine and In My Life, sharpened the world's wit at press conferences, and was gone at forty, shot outside his New York apartment building in 1980. For most of the twentieth century the name kept a low profile in American records, but around the turn of the millennium it began to climb as a first name for boys and girls alike, and it has risen steadily since, standing stronger now than it has ever been. Parents who use it get a protest singer, a love song, and a meaning that quietly says sweetheart, all in one.
How popular is Lennon around the world?
In the United States, 9,828 babies were named Lennon between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 226 girls named Lennon were born in 2024, the 115th most common name among girls that year.
Lennon is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Australia, Austria, France, Brazil, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 2,200
In the United States, 9,828 babies were named Lennon between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lennon peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 1,300
In Canada, 226 girls named Lennon were born in 2024, the 115th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 3,100
In England and Wales, 167 boys named Lennon were born in 2025, the 272nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 3,200
In Ireland, 17 boys named Lennon were born in 2025, the 262nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 4,600
In Scotland, 10 boys named Lennon were registered in 2024, the 352nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Lennon in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Lennon in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Lennon were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 64,000
In France, about 10 boys named Lennon were born in 2025, ranked 3,117th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Brazil
1 in 140,000
At the 2022 census, 1,426 people in Brazil were named Lennon, ranked 6,491st, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Lennon living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 55 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Lennon in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 460,000
In Spain, 97 residents are named Lennon, ranked 8,484th among men, with a mean age of 10.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
last on record 2016
Lennon is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Lennon is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Lennon is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Lennon
Most people given the name Lennon 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Lennon · Names that go with Lennon · Middle names for Lennon · Names of music legends · Gender-neutral names
The Lennon deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lennon 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 Lennon fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Lennon fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Lennon to your family’s tree →