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Leonardo

boy name
Origin
Italian
Syllables
4
Peak era
2010s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Leonardo and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

brave lion (leon 'lion' + hard 'brave, hardy'); Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance polymath, inventor, and artist

Goes by Leo. See all nicknames

The story

A horse's legs can be a better introduction to Leonardo than a solemn portrait of genius. Sketches of them share one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks with geometry and drawings of clothes and hats. Looking through that Renaissance notebook means moving between subjects that a modern bookshelf might keep apart. His Italian notes run in mirror writing, from right to left, so even following a sentence asks the reader to change direction. The name itself is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard. Its Germanic elements bring together "lion" and "brave, hardy," conventionally giving "brave lion." That is its linguistic inheritance; the notebook offers a different kind of association. Beside the grand reputation is a page full of particular things to look at, from a geometrical problem to the shape of a horse's leg.

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How popular is Leonardo around the world?

In the United States, 24,367 babies were named Leonardo between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 1,230 registrations of Leonardo in 2022.

Leonardo is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Brazil, Chile, Montevideo, Puerto Rico, South Australia, New South Wales, Argentina, Austria, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Norway, Poland, New Zealand and France.

Leonardo crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese

United States

1 in 890

In the United States, 24,367 babies were named Leonardo between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Leonardo peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Mexico City City

1 in 96

In Mexico City, there were 1,230 registrations of Leonardo in 2022.

2000peak 2020

share of that year’s registrations in the city

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 (42 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Brazil

1 in 360

At the 2022 census, 566,973 people in Brazil were named Leonardo, the 29th most common name, with a median age of 25.
Among people named Leonardo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1990s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 22,089 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

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Chile

1 in 640

In Chile, 280 boys were registered as Leonardo in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 19692021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Montevideo City

1 in 650 · 2011

In Montevideo, 38 boys named Leonardo were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 19692011

share of that year’s births on record

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

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Puerto Rico

1 in 950

In Puerto Rico, 19 babies were named Leonardo in 2025, and 1,092 have carried the name since 1998.

1998peak 2022

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

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South Australia

1 in 1,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 17 boys were registered as Leonardo in 2017.

1944peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

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

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New South Wales

#79 · 2025

In New South Wales, 103 boys named Leonardo were registered in 2025, ranked 79th in that year’s top 100 for boys.

2010peak 2022

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Argentina

1 in 1,300

In Argentina, 491 newborns were given the name Leonardo in 2024.

peak 20122024

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

See the full list for Argentina →

Austria

1 in 1,400

In Austria, 55 boys named Leonardo were born in 2025, the 124th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

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)

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England and Wales

1 in 1,500

In England and Wales, 389 boys named Leonardo were born in 2025, the 126th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 2021

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

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Canada

1 in 1,900

In Canada, 190 boys named Leonardo were born in 2024, the 177th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2022

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)

See the full list for Canada →

Ireland

1 in 2,200

In Ireland, 25 boys named Leonardo were born in 2025, the 188th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2023

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

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Scotland

1 in 2,700

In Scotland, 17 boys named Leonardo were registered in 2024, the 234th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2022

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

See the full list for Scotland →

Spain

1 in 3,100

In Spain, 14,407 residents are named Leonardo, the 203rd most common name among men, with a mean age of 37.1 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

See the full list for Spain →

Norway

1 in 3,100 · register 2026

In Norway, 9 boys were given the name Leonardo in 2025.

1960peak 2023

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Poland

1 in 3,200

In Poland, 78 boys named Leonardo were born in 2025, the 139th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

New Zealand

1 in 3,600

In New Zealand, 16 boys named Leonardo were registered in 2025.

2000peak 20182025

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

See the full list for New Zealand →

France

1 in 8,000

In France, about 80 boys named Leonardo were born in 2025, the 550th most common name among boys that year.

1920peak 2023

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. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Leonardo, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Leonardo

Most people given the name Leonardo 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.

Names that fit alongside Leonardo

Lorenzo Romeo Sergio Santino Davi Gianni

Where Leonardo travels

Mexican American · a classic name enjoying a strong revival

Spanish · brave as a lion

Italian American · a classic enjoying a strong modern revival

Keep exploring

Names like Leonardo · Names that go with Leonardo · Nicknames for Leonardo · Middle names for Leonardo · Italian Brazilian baby names · Italian baby names · Italian American baby names · Spanish baby names · Mexican American baby names

Name trails: explore connections from Leonardo →

The Leonardo deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Leonardo 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 Leonardo fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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