Leighann
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "a meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 3,232 living Americans carry the first name Leighann. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leighann today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leighann births was 1986 (119 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leighann. 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
3.2K
~ 1 in 106,050 Americans
Peak year
1986
119 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,262
Tracked since 1956
Popularity
Leighann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leighann from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,048 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leighann 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 Leighann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leighanns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Leighann, while Missouri, Louisiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leighann
The name Leighann is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the combination of the Old English word "leah," meaning a meadow or woodland clearing, and the suffix "-ann," which is a diminutive form indicating smallness or endearment. This name is believed to have emerged in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, when English naming conventions were heavily influenced by the Norman conquest.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Leighann can be traced back to the 16th century, with notable historical figures such as Leighann Foxe, an English Protestant martyrologist born in 1516, who documented the persecution of Protestants during the reign of Mary I of England. Another early bearer of the name was Leighann Bridewell, a 16th-century English philanthropist known for establishing one of the first workhouses in London.
In the 17th century, Leighann Hutchinson (1619-1650) was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, serving as a military leader and supporter of the Parliamentarian cause. Around the same time, Leighann Bradstreet (1612-1672) gained recognition as one of the earliest published poets in the American colonies, known for her contemplative and religious verse.
Moving into the 18th century, Leighann Aikenhead (1676-1697) was a Scottish student and freethinker who was controversially executed for denying the doctrine of the Trinity. In the 19th century, Leighann Hunt (1784-1859) was an English essayist, poet, and critic, known for his influential literary journals and his advocacy for social reform.
In more recent history, Leighann Remini (born 1970) is an American actress and author, best known for her role in the sitcom "The King of Queens" and her memoir detailing her experience as a former member of the Church of Scientology. Another notable figure is Leighann Woodhouse (born 1977), a British athlete and former sprinter who won multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
People
Leighann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leighann 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
Leighann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leighann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leighann 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 106,050 US residents.
Is Leighann a common name?
We classify Leighann as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,435 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leighann most popular?
The single biggest year for Leighann was 1986, when 119 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leighann is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leighann a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leighann 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.