NameCensus.
Uncommon

Leia

A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "the sublime one".

Name Census estimates that about 17,446 living Americans carry the first name Leia. It sits at #290 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leia today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leia births was 2023 (1,424 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Leia. 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

  • Leia is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.

People living today

17K

~ 1 in 19,647 Americans

Peak year

2023

1,424 babies that year

Average age

14

years old

2024 SSA rank

#290

Tracked since 1949

Popularity

Leia: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Leia from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7,236 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.

Babies born per year

03567121K1K19501960197019801990200020102020

Decades

Leia 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 Leia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1940s077
1950s01616
1960s0220220
1970s0518518
1980s0974974
1990s0764764
2000s02,1032,103
2010s07,2367,236
2020s05,8985,898

Geography

Where Leias live

The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Leia, while District of Columbia, New Hampshire, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 334 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Leia

The name Leia originates from the ancient Greek language and has its roots in the word "leios", which means "smooth" or "flat". It was likely used as a descriptive name referring to a person's smooth or calm demeanor. The name first appeared in ancient Greek literature and texts dating back to the 5th century BC.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Leia was Leia of Athens, a Greek playwright who lived in the 5th century BC. Her works, unfortunately, have been lost to time, but she is mentioned in the writings of ancient Greek scholars and historians.

In Roman mythology, Leia was the name of a minor goddess associated with childbirth and fertility. She was often invoked by expectant mothers seeking a safe and smooth delivery.

During the Byzantine Empire, the name Leia was relatively common among the Greek population. One notable figure was Leia Komnene, a princess and author who lived in the 12th century (1105-1151). She wrote several historical works and was known for her intelligence and literary talents.

In the 16th century, Leia Mencía was a Spanish painter and one of the few female artists of the Renaissance period. She was known for her portraits and religious works, which were highly regarded during her lifetime (1501-1568).

Another notable figure was Leia Stephanopoulos, a Greek linguist and scholar who lived in the 17th century (1630-1693). She was a pioneer in the study of Greek dialects and contributed greatly to the preservation of the Greek language and culture.

One of the more recent historical figures with the name Leia was Leia Aristarhova, a Russian revolutionary and activist who fought for women's rights and socialism in the early 20th century (1884-1942).

While the name Leia has ancient roots and has been used throughout history, it gained widespread popularity in modern times after the release of the Star Wars films, where Princess Leia Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, became an iconic character.

People

Leia + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Leia 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

Leia: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Leia?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,446 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leia 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 19,647 US residents.

Is Leia a common name?

We classify Leia as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,736 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Leia most popular?

The single biggest year for Leia was 2023, when 1,424 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leia is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Leia a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leia 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.

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