Leacy
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from the English word "leafy".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Leacy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leacy today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leacy births was 1912 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leacy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Leacy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1912
6 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1994 SSA rank
#14,720
Tracked since 1898
Popularity
Leacy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leacy from the 1890s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Leacy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leacy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Leacy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leacy
The name Leacy is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic languages spoken in parts of Europe and the British Isles. It is thought to be derived from the Proto-Celtic root word "leac," meaning "flat stone" or "flagstone." This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone who lived near or worked with flat stones, perhaps a stonemason or someone who lived in an area with flat, rocky terrain.
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, there are several historical references that provide clues to its use and evolution over time. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Welsh literature, where a character named Leacy ap Rhys is mentioned in the 13th-century manuscript known as the "Black Book of Carmarthen."
In the 15th century, a man named Leacy ap Gwilym was recorded as a landowner in the county of Glamorgan, Wales. This suggests that the name had become established as a personal name by this time and was used by members of the gentry and landowning classes.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Leacy appeared sporadically in parish records and legal documents throughout parts of Wales and southwestern England. Notable individuals from this period include Leacy Jones (c. 1580-1640), a Welsh clergyman and writer who authored several religious texts, and Leacy Pritchard (1620-1695), an English landowner and magistrate who served as the High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1676.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Leacy remained relatively uncommon but was found in various parts of the English-speaking world. One notable bearer of the name was Leacy Davies (1775-1846), a Welsh soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected military historian and author.
Another famous individual with the name Leacy was Leacy Ponton (1818-1892), a Scottish-born explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in South America and made significant contributions to the study of the region's flora and fauna.
While the name Leacy has never been widespread, it has persisted over the centuries and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, from landowners and clergymen to soldiers and naturalists. Although its origins may be shrouded in the mists of ancient Celtic history, the name continues to be used today, carrying with it a sense of connection to the rich cultural heritage of the British Isles and parts of continental Europe.
People
Leacy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leacy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leacy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leacy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leacy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Leacy a common name?
We classify Leacy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leacy most popular?
The single biggest year for Leacy was 1912, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leacy is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Leacy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leacy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leacy in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Leacy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leacy in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Leacy can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Leacy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.