Leliana
A feminine name of French origin meaning "pretty" or "alluring".
Name Census estimates that about 312 living Americans carry the first name Leliana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leliana today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leliana births was 2016 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leliana. 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
312
~ 1 in 1,098,572 Americans
Peak year
2016
34 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,516
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Leliana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leliana from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 225 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Leliana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leliana 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 Leliana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lelianas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leliana
The name Leliana is believed to have originated from the Latin language, derived from the feminine form of the name Laelius or Lelius. The name Laelius itself is thought to have come from the ancient Roman family name Laelius or Lelius, which may have been derived from the word "laetus," meaning "joyful" or "cheerful."
In ancient Roman times, the Laelii were a prominent patrician family known for their involvement in politics and literature. One of the most famous members of this family was Gaius Laelius Sapiens, a Roman statesman and philosopher who lived in the 2nd century BC. He was a close friend and confidant of the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus.
The earliest recorded use of the name Leliana can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where it was a relatively uncommon name among the nobility and upper classes in parts of Western Europe, particularly in regions influenced by Latin culture and the Roman Catholic Church.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Leliana was Leliana of Vermandois, a 12th-century French noblewoman who lived from around 1120 to 1190. She was the daughter of Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois, and played a significant role in the political struggles of her time.
Another notable figure with the name Leliana was Leliana de Polignac, a French nun and abbess who lived in the 13th century. She served as the abbess of the Cistercian monastery of Notre-Dame de Laval in the Auvergne region of France from 1260 until her death in 1288.
In the 15th century, Leliana de Montferrat was an Italian noblewoman and the wife of Boniface III, Marquis of Montferrat. She lived from around 1430 to 1480 and played an important role in the political affairs of the Montferrat dynasty.
During the Renaissance period, Leliana Gonzaga was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She lived from around 1510 to 1570 and was a member of the powerful Gonzaga family, which ruled the Duchy of Mantua.
In more recent times, one of the most famous bearers of the name Leliana was Leliana Romanov, a Russian princess and granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I. She lived from 1870 to 1935 and was known for her philanthropic work and support for various charitable causes.
People
Leliana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leliana 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
Leliana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leliana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 312 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leliana 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 1,098,572 US residents.
Is Leliana a common name?
We classify Leliana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 314 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leliana most popular?
The single biggest year for Leliana was 2016, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leliana is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leliana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leliana 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.