Lennon
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lennon peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,426 people · the #6,491 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 142,857 · median age 28
Among people named Lennon living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 55 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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.
Keep exploring
Names like Lennon · Middle names for Lennon · Names of music legends · Gender-neutral names
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