Leiann
A feminine name derived from the French combination "Leigh Ann", meaning "meadow meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Leiann. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leiann today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leiann births was 1969 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leiann. 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
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
1969
12 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,666
Tracked since 1956
Census
Leiann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 340 people with the first name Leiann, which placed it at #27,081 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,081
National first-name rank
People counted
340
340 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leiann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leiann is White at 56.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.6%) and Hispanic (10.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Leiann described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Leiann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.8% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.6% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 34
- Black or African American6.2% · 21
- Two or more races4.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 6
Popularity
Leiann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leiann from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 83 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leiann 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 Leiann 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 Leiann
The name Leiann has its origins in the Hawaiian language and culture. It is a feminine name that is believed to have been derived from the Hawaiian word "lei," which refers to a traditional Hawaiian garland of flowers worn around the neck or head. The name likely emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century, during the period when Hawaii was first being explored and documented by European explorers and missionaries.
In Hawaiian culture, the act of giving and receiving leis is a symbol of love, respect, and welcoming. Leis are often presented as a gesture of affection or as a way to honor someone. The name Leiann may have been given to children to represent the beauty, fragrance, and significance of the lei in Hawaiian traditions.
While there are no known historical references to the name Leiann in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to be a relatively modern name that gained popularity in the 20th century, particularly in Hawaii and other parts of the United States.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Leiann is Leiann Lo, a Hawaiian actress and model born in 1964. She is known for her roles in television shows and films such as "Jake and the Fatman" and "Quantum Leap."
Another notable figure with the name Leiann is Leiann Bethune, an American actress and producer born in 1978. She has appeared in various television shows and films, including "Dexter" and "Criminal Minds."
Leiann Drummond, born in 1967, is an American actress and singer who has performed on Broadway and in various regional theater productions.
Leiann Parker, born in 1974, is an American writer and poet who has published several collections of poetry and received numerous literary awards.
Leiann Hiton, born in 1980, is an American artist and sculptor known for her abstract and contemporary works, which have been exhibited in galleries across the United States.
While the name Leiann is not among the most common given names, it holds a unique and meaningful connection to Hawaiian culture and traditions, representing the beauty and significance of the lei in Hawaiian society.
People
Leiann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leiann 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
Leiann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leiann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leiann 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 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Leiann a common name?
We classify Leiann as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 246 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leiann most popular?
The single biggest year for Leiann was 1969, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leiann is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leiann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 340 people with the name Leiann, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,081 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Leiann in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Leiann?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leiann appears almost entirely female. Of the 342 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Leiann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leiann is White at 56.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.6%) and Hispanic (10.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Leiann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leiann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.8% (193 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Leiann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leiann a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leiann 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 Leiann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leiann 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 Leiann 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.
How many people have the name Leiann?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Leiann on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.