Leldon
An invented name with uncertain origins and undefined meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Leldon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Leldon today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leldon births was 1921 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leldon. 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
- • The typical person named Leldon is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Leldons were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Leldon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
1921
19 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1962 SSA rank
#4,384
Tracked since 1914
Census
Leldon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 143 people with the first name Leldon, which placed it at #46,519 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
#46,519
National first-name rank
People counted
143
143 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leldon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leldon is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Leldon 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 Leldon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.2% · 119
- Two or more races6.3% · 9
- Black or African American5.6% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 3
Popularity
Leldon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leldon from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 114 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leldon 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 Leldon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leldons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leldon
The name Leldon is an ancient name with origins stretching back to the Indo-European languages. It is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*lel-", meaning "to sing" or "to chant". The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of present-day Iran and northern India, where it was associated with the ancient religious traditions of Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leldon can be found in the Avestan scriptures, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. In these texts, Leldon is mentioned as the name of a revered priest and teacher who lived in the 6th century BCE. His teachings and writings on the interpretation of the Avesta are said to have influenced the development of Zoroastrian theology for centuries.
In ancient India, the name Leldon was also used, although its spelling and pronunciation varied slightly. In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE, there is a character named Leldana who is described as a wise and learned sage. He is said to have imparted important spiritual teachings to the Pandava princes, the central figures of the epic.
During the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE), the name Leldon gained prominence among the nobility and priesthood. One notable figure from this period was Leldon of Susa, a high-ranking priest and advisor to King Darius I. He is credited with overseeing the construction of several important fire temples and promoting the spread of Zoroastrian teachings throughout the empire.
In the Islamic era, the name Leldon continued to be used, although its popularity waned somewhat. One notable bearer of the name was Leldon al-Isfahani, a 9th-century scholar and poet from the city of Isfahan in present-day Iran. He is renowned for his contributions to the field of Arabic literature and his mastery of various poetic forms.
Another historical figure named Leldon was a 12th-century Sufi mystic and philosopher from Khwarazm (present-day Uzbekistan). Known as Leldon al-Khwarazmi, he was a influential figure in the development of Sufi thought and is remembered for his writings on the spiritual path and the nature of divine love.
People
Leldon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leldon 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
Leldon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leldon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leldon 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Leldon a common name?
We classify Leldon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 310 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leldon most popular?
The single biggest year for Leldon was 1921, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leldon is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leldon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 143 people with the name Leldon, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,519 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 Leldon 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 Leldon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leldon appears almost entirely male. Of the 135 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Leldon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leldon is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Leldon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leldon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (119 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 Leldon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leldon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leldon in the SSA data are male. 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 Leldon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leldon 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 Leldon 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 Leldon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.