Leondra
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "lioness" or "brave as a lion".
Name Census estimates that about 719 living Americans carry the first name Leondra. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Leondra today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leondra births was 1995 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leondra. 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
719
~ 1 in 476,710 Americans
Peak year
1995
37 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1977 SSA rank
#6,431
Tracked since 1945
Census
Leondra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 680 people with the first name Leondra, which placed it at #16,535 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
#16,535
National first-name rank
People counted
680
680 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leondra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leondra is Black at 74.9%. The next largest groups are White (11.0%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Leondra 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 Leondra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.9% · 509
- White11.0% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 43
- Two or more races5.9% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Leondra
Out of the 763 babies given the name Leondra since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Leondra as a male name
- Ranked #6,431 in 1977
- 5 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1977 (5 births)
Leondra as a female name
- Ranked #17,338 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1995 (37 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leondra leans strongly female. 622 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (8.1%).
Popularity
Leondra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leondra from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 244 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leondra 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 Leondra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leondras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leondra
The name Leondra has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the combination of the words "leon" meaning lion and "andros" meaning man. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a brave or courageous individual, someone with the strength and ferocity of a lion. The name can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was likely used during the classical period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leondra can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who lived in the 1st century AD. He mentioned a woman named Leondra in his work "Parallel Lives," though little is known about her specific identity or significance.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Leondra gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Several notable historical figures bore this name, including Leondra Palaiologina, a Byzantine princess who lived in the 14th century and was a member of the influential Palaiologos dynasty.
In the realm of literature, the name Leondra appears in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. One of his comedies, titled "The Frogs," features a character named Leondra, though her role and significance within the play are relatively minor.
Another notable figure with the name Leondra was a 5th-century Byzantine empress consort named Leondra Gabrielitsa. She was the wife of Emperor Leo I and played a influential role in the political and religious affairs of the Byzantine Empire during her husband's reign.
In the realm of religion, the name Leondra has been associated with various Christian saints and martyrs throughout history. One such figure was Saint Leondra of Salerno, an Italian nun who lived in the 10th century and is venerated in the Catholic Church for her pious devotion and charitable works.
While the name Leondra has its roots in ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire, it has also been adopted and used in other cultures and regions over the centuries. However, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other more popular names, adding to its uniqueness and historical significance.
People
Leondra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leondra 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
Leondra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leondra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 719 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leondra 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 476,710 US residents.
Is Leondra a common name?
We classify Leondra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 763 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leondra most popular?
The single biggest year for Leondra was 1995, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leondra is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leondra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 680 people with the name Leondra, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,535 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 Leondra 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 Leondra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leondra leans strongly female. 622 people counted with this name were female (91.9%), compared with 55 male bearers (8.1%). 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 Leondra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leondra is Black at 74.9%. The next largest groups are White (11.0%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Leondra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Leondra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (509 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 Leondra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leondra a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Leondra 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 Leondra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leondra 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 Leondra 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 are named Leondra?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Leondra at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.