BabyNamesMap

Baby names › Boys

Lionel

Means “lion”*

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #645, 2016: #583, 2017: #596, 2018: #634, 2019: #631, 2020: #659, 2021: #660, 2022: #620, 2023: #495, 2024: #562, 2025: #6591 in 4,077 boys in the US, 2025#659 · steady · was #645 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2015: #1,046, 2016: #1,570, 2017: #2,172, 2018: #1,132, 2019: #1,083, 2020: #1,111, 2021: #1,595, 2022: #1,420, 2023: #1,071, 2024: #847, 2025: #1,1971 in 11,331 boys in E&W, 2025#1,197 · falling · was #1,046 in 2015

Boy’s name · Latin · /ˈlaɪənl/

Try with your surname

What Lionel means

Means “lion”

A Middle English diminutive of French Léon, Latin Leo (“lion”), or of the Middle English nickname Lion + -el (diminutive suffix).

Source: Wiktionary, “Lionel” (revision 93672176), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Lionel?

US 2025
#659
419 babies
▼ 97 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#1197
24 babies
▼ 350 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Steady: #645 in 2015, #659 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #1046 in 2015.

00.518801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 boys born. Dot: biggest US share (2023)

Biggest US share so far: 2023, when 609 boys got the name (#495 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

  • About 1 in 4,077 baby boys in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 11,331 baby boys in England and Wales 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 OR (0.6 per 1,000 boys), NV (0.53 per 1,000 boys), CA (0.5 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

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

US vs UK

Lionel is #659 in the US and #1197 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#6594191 in 4,077#645
England & Wales#1197241 in 11,331#1046
Scotland––––

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Lionel were boys.

GirlsBoys
US 20250419
England & Wales 2025024
US all years since 18804433,789
England & Wales since 19960412

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

How to say it

/ˈlaɪənl/

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

  • Leonel942 US · 8 E&W
  • Leonell10 US
  • Lionell7 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 Lionel

Boys

  • Leon#138“lion”
  • Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
  • Felix#175“happy, lucky”
  • August#81“month of August”
  • Augustine#545Same root as Austin, meaning “majestic”
  • Augustus#407“majestic, venerable”

For a sister

  • Rosalie#171“rose”
  • Beatrice#508“she who makes happy”
  • Mabel#201“lovable”
  • Rosalee#954Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #954 vs #4,867 in 2025
  • Florence#391“flowering, flourishing”
  • Rosemary#251“dew of the sea”

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 Lionel’s. Rank is US 2025.

Jump to a random name page, or roll from every name on the home page.