Leida
A feminine name of possible Germanic origin meaning "prosperous" or "gentle".
Name Census estimates that about 380 living Americans carry the first name Leida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leida today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leida births was 1976 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leida. 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
380
~ 1 in 901,985 Americans
Peak year
1976
16 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,677
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Leida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leida from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leida 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 Leida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leidas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leida
The name Leida is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia and Iceland during the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "leiðr," meaning "path" or "way," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a well-traveled route or was considered a guide or leader.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leida can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of literary works that depict the lives and adventures of the Norse settlers in Iceland during the 10th and 11th centuries. In the Saga of the Greenlanders, a woman named Leida is mentioned as being a member of a prominent family in the Icelandic settlement of Greenland.
During the Middle Ages, the name Leida was relatively uncommon but still in use in some parts of Scandinavia. One notable bearer of the name was Leida of Denmark, a Danish noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was married to a member of the Danish royal family.
As the name spread beyond its Nordic roots, it underwent various spelling variations and adaptations in different languages and cultures. In the 16th century, there is a record of a German woman named Leida Müller, who was a renowned herbalist and healer in the city of Nuremberg.
In the 19th century, a Russian woman named Leida Pavlovna Mendeleeva, born in 1834, gained recognition for her work in education and women's rights advocacy. She was the wife of the famous chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, who is best known for creating the periodic table of elements.
Another notable figure with the name Leida was Leida Vsekhsviatskaia, a Russian-born actress and dancer who lived from 1889 to 1962. She was a prominent figure in the early 20th century Russian theater scene and was particularly celebrated for her performances in productions of plays by Anton Chekhov.
While the name Leida has remained relatively rare in most parts of the world, it has maintained a presence in some Nordic countries and has been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds, reflecting the rich history and cultural significance of this name.
People
Leida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leida 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
Leida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 380 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leida 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 901,985 US residents.
Is Leida a common name?
We classify Leida as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leida most popular?
The single biggest year for Leida was 1976, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leida is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leida 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.