Leeya
A variant of Leah, a feminine Hebrew name meaning "weary" or "tired."
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the first name Leeya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leeya today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leeya births was 2009 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leeya. 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.
People living today
518
~ 1 in 661,688 Americans
Peak year
2009
44 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,666
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Leeya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leeya from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 212 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leeya 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 Leeya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leeyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Leeya, while Texas, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leeya
The name Leeya is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was predominantly used in the Indian subcontinent. The name Leeya is derived from the Sanskrit word "lila," which means "play" or "sport." It is thought to have been used as a name during the medieval period in India, although its exact origins are difficult to pinpoint.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Leeya can be found in the Hindu scriptures known as the Puranas. These ancient texts, which date back to around the 4th century CE, mention a character named Leeya who was a devoted follower of Lord Krishna. However, it is unclear whether this character was a real historical figure or simply a symbolic representation.
In the 12th century, there was a famous Indian mystic and poet named Leeya who was known for her devotional songs and poems dedicated to Lord Shiva. She is considered one of the most renowned female saints in the Bhakti movement, which was a spiritual renaissance that swept across the Indian subcontinent during the medieval period.
Another notable figure with the name Leeya was a 16th-century Indian princess who ruled over the princely state of Dungarpur in present-day Rajasthan, India. Princess Leeya was known for her patronage of the arts and her efforts in promoting education and culture within her kingdom.
In the 19th century, there was an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer named Leeya Thakar who played a pivotal role in the struggle for India's independence from British rule. She was also a prominent advocate for women's rights and education, and her work inspired many other activists of her time.
More recently, in the 20th century, there was a renowned Indian classical dancer named Leeya Samson who was widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the Bharatanatyam dance form. Her performances and teachings helped to preserve and promote this ancient Indian dance tradition on a global scale.
People
Leeya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leeya 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
Leeya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leeya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 518 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leeya 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 661,688 US residents.
Is Leeya a common name?
We classify Leeya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 524 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leeya most popular?
The single biggest year for Leeya was 2009, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leeya is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leeya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leeya 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.
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.