Lee

What Lee means

Means “meadow”

From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.

Source: Wiktionary, “Lee” (revision 94541099), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Lee?

US: Steady: #677 in 2015, #725 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #526 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1900, when 675 boys got the name (#39 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 4,667 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 10,072 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 6,547 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in IA (1.01 per 1,000 boys), NE (0.57 per 1,000 boys), AR (0.56 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Lee is #725 in the US and #1093 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 94.6% of US babies named Lee were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Lou81 US · 4 E&W
• Lui8 US · 8 E&W
• Law11 US
• Llew0 US · 10 E&W
• Lew5 US
• Le0 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Lea
• Leigh

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Lee

Boys

• James#6“May He Heel”^*
• Peter#187“stone, rock”^*
• Charles#48“free man”^*
• Thomas#34“twin”^*
• Paul#262“small”^*
• Derek#284Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1989, with 8,365 babies; 1,191 in 2025

For a sister

• Amy#257“beloved”^*
• Mary#125Same root as Miriam, possibly meaning “bitter”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*
• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Margaret#112“pearl”^*
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Lee’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.