Leo

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Leo

Gender: Masculine
Language: Greek and English
Etymology:
Leo is a Greek name which meant “Lion.”

History:
Leo, or Leon, the name of several early saints and popes, became very popular during the Middle Ages. Parents liked the “lion-like” qualities of the name. In England, however, Leon was considered a Jewish name.
Lionel, a French diminutive, was brought to England by King Edward III of England (1312-1377), who gave it to his son (Lionel Plantagenet of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, 1338-1368).

Leo became popular with parents at the turn of the 20th century.

Pronunciation: LEE-oh.

Alternates: Lew, Leon, Lyon.
Catalan: Lleó.
Czech: Leos.
French: Léon, Léo, Lionel, Lionet.
German: Leon.
Irish Gaelic: Leon.
Italian: Leone.
Polish: Lev.
Portuguese: Leão.
Russian: Lev, Lyov.
Yiddish: Leib.

Feminine: Leona.

See also: Leon.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Leone Leoni (1509-1590)
Florentine sculptor.
Leo von Klenze (1784-1864)
German architect.
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
Russian author.
Léo Delibes (1836-1891)
French composer.
Leos Janácek (1854-1928)
Austrian composer.
Leo Sowerby (1895-1968)
American composer.
Léo-Paul Desrosiers (1896-1967)
French-Canadian writer.
Leo Rosten (1908-1997)
Polish-American author.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Leo Strauss (1899-1973)
German-American political philosopher.
Lev Zinoviyevich Kopelev (1912-1997)
Russian human rights activist.

Miscellaneous:
Leo Frobenius (1873-1938)
German explorer.
Leo Durocher (1905-1991)
American baseball player.
Lev Ivanovich Yashin (1929-1990)
Russian soccer.

Other:
Leo
The lion in the zodiac.

Political Figures:
Leo, Graf von Caprivi (1831-1899)
Succeeded Bismark as Germany’s Imperial Chancellor.
Lev Borisovich Kamenev (1883-1936)
Russian Communist leader.

Religious Figures:
Saint Leo I the Great (?-461)
Pope from 440 to 461.
Saint Leo II (?-683)
Pope from 681 to 683.
Saint Leo III (?-816)
Pope from 795 to 816.
Saint Leo IV (?-855)
Pope from 847 to 855.
Leo V (?-903)
Pope for three months in 903.
Leo VI (?-928)
Pope for seven months in 928.
Leo VII (?-939)
Pope from 936 to 939.
Leo VIII (?-965)
Pope from 963 to 965.
Leo Jud (1482-1542)
Swiss religious reformer.
Saint Leo IX (Bruno, Graf von Egisheim Und Dagsburg) (1002-1054)
Pope from 1049 to 1954.
Leo X (Giovanni de’Medici) (1475-1521)
Extravagant pope from 1513 to 1521.
Leo XI (Alessandro Ottaviano De’Medici) (1535-1605)
Pope for twenty-six days in 1605.
Leo XII (Annibale Sermattei Della Genga) (1760-1829)
Pope from 1823 to 1829.
Leo XIII (Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci) (1810-1903)
Pope from 1878 to 1903.
Leo Baeck (1873-1956)
German rabbi. A Jewish leader during World War II.

Royalty:
Leo I (?-474)
Eastern Roman emperor.
Leo II (?-474)
Byzantine emperor for a few months.
Leo III the Isaurian (675-741)
Byzantine emperor.
Leo IV the Khazar (749-780)
Byzantine emperor.
Leo V the Armenian (?-820)
Byzantine emperor.
Leo VI the Wise (866-912)
Byzantine emperor.

Scientists:
Leo Hendrick Baekeland (1863-1844)
American chemist. Founder of Bakelite.
Lev Simonovich Berg (1876-1950)
Russian zoologist.
Leo Szilard (1898-1964)
Hungarian-American physicist.
Lev Davidovich Landau (1908-1968)
Soviet physicist. Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Leo Fender (1909-1991)
American inventor of musical instruments.
Leo Esaki (1925-)
Japanese physicist. Co-winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Singers and Entertainers:
Leo Slezak (1873-1946)
Austrian opera singer.
Leo McCarey (1898-1969)
American screenwriter.
Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov (1899-1970)
Soviet filmmaker.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.112 % named Leon
0.106 % named Leo
0.024 % named Lionel
0.008 % named Leonel

Popularity of Leo:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1850: 313th most popular.
1875: 202nd most popular.
1900-1910: 44th most popular.
1910-1920: 47th most popular.
1920-1930: 55th most popular.
1930-1940: 88th most popular.
1940-1950: 148th most popular.
1950-1960: 184th most popular.
1960-1970: 268th most popular.
1970-1980: 339th most popular.
1980-1990: 430th most popular.
1990: 483rd most popular.
1991: 440th most popular.
1992: 457th most popular.
1993: 460th most popular.
1994: 461st most popular.
1995: 476th most popular.
1996: 477th most popular.
1997: 476th most popular.
1998: 434th most popular.
1999: 440th most popular.
2000: 395th most popular.
2001: 364th most popular.
2002: 340th most popular.
2003: 287th most popular.

In France...
1900-1910: N/A
1920: 184th most popular.
1930: 188th most popular.
1940: 183rd most popular.
1943: 197th most popular.
1950-1980: N/A
1987: 164th most popular.
1990: 110th most popular.
2000: 27th most popular.

Popularity of Lionel:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 383rd most popular.
1910-1920: 340th most popular.
1920-1930: 367th most popular.
1930-1940: 331st most popular.
1940-1950: 397th most popular.
1950-1960: 386th most popular.
1960-1970: 408th most popular.
1970-1980: 549th most popular.
1980-1990: 489th most popular.
1990: 665th most popular.
1991: 712th most popular.
1992: 742nd most popular.
1993: 718th most popular.
1994: 842nd most popular.
1995: 818th most popular.
1996: 947th most popular.
1997: N/A
1998: 881st most popular.
1999: 999th most popular.
2000: 967th most popular.
2001: 970th most popular.
2002: N/A

In France...
1900-1910: N/A
1917: 190th most popular.
1920: 149th most popular.
1930: 104th most popular.
1940: 84th most popular.
1950: 62nd most popular.
1960: 56th most popular.
1970: 32nd most popular.
1980: 53rd most popular.
1990: 136th most popular.
1994: 188th most popular.
2000: N/A

Popularity of Leonel:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1960: N/A
1960-1970: 945th most popular.
1970-1980: 801st most popular.
1980-1990: 598th most popular.
1990: 536th most popular.
1991: 519th most popular.
1992: 520th most popular.
1993: 532nd most popular.
1994: 538th most popular.
1995: 569th most popular.
1996: 553rd most popular.
1997: 577th most popular.
1998: 558th most popular.
1999: 533rd most popular.
2000: 523rd most popular.
2001: 529th most popular.
2002: 535th most popular.
2003: 524th most popular.