Leonardo
Meaning
brave lion (leon 'lion' + hard 'brave, hardy'); Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance polymath, inventor, and artist
Goes by Leo
The story
Leonardo joins two old Germanic words, lion and hardy, into a brave lion, and Italy made the name its own. Its greatest bearer needs no introduction: Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance polymath who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper while filling notebooks with flying machines, anatomy studies, and inventions centuries ahead of their time. Few namesakes set a higher bar, or a more inspiring one. In the United States the name simmered for decades, kept warm by Italian-American families, then began climbing in the 1990s, right as Leonardo DiCaprio, himself reportedly named for da Vinci, became one of the most famous actors alive. We cannot prove the connection, but the timing is hard to ignore. The rise has continued ever since, and the 2020s find Leonardo at its American peak.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Leonardo peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
566,973 people · the #29 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 358 · median age 25
Among people named Leonardo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 22,089 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
The Leonardo deep dive
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.
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 · 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
Does Leonardo fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Leonardo to your family’s tree →