Leona

What Leona means

Feminine form of Leo, meaning “lion”

feminine form of Leo || From Latin leō (“lion”), calque of Ancient Greek λέων (léōn), calque of Akkadian 𒉈𒍑 (nēšu) / Akkadian 𒌨𒄞𒆷 (urgulû), from Sumerian 𒌨𒄞𒆷 (UR.GU.LA, “lion; name of constellation”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Leona” (revision 93950692) and “Leo” (revision 94541134), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Leona?

US: Rising: up from #680 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #696 in 2015, #705 now.

Biggest US share so far: 1905, when 1,082 girls got the name (#69 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,223 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,871 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,556 baby girls 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 MT (2.83 per 1,000 girls), WI (1.18 per 1,000 girls), WA (1.07 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Leona is #429 in the US and #705 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Leona were girls.

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

• Liana801 US · 150 E&W
• Leanna300 US · 18 E&W
• Luana110 US · 27 E&W
• Leana74 US · 8 E&W
• Leiana55 US · 5 E&W
• Leonna28 US
• Liona18 US · 4 E&W
• Leoni16 US

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

If you like Leona

Girls

• Aurelia#290“golden”^*
• Renata#481“reborn”^*
• Rosalie#171“rose”^*
• Aurora#15Italian, from Latin Aurōra, meaning “dawn, sunrise”^*
• Emilia#45Variant of Emily, meaning “rival, emulator”^*
• Mabel#201“lovable”^*

For a brother

• Leo#19“lion”^*
• Felix#175“happy, lucky”^*
• Cassius#582Editor’s note Up from #644 in 2015 to #582 in 2025 in the US
• August#81“month of August”^*
• Roman#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #102 in 2015, #42 in 2025
• Bennett#40Form of Benedict, meaning “blessed, well spoken of”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Leona’s. Rank is US 2025.