Leonidis
Derived from Greek leonidas meaning "lion's son" or "lion-like".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Leonidis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Leonidis today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leonidis births was 2012 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leonidis. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Leonidis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2012
7 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2012 SSA rank
#10,356
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Leonidis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leonidis from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leonidis 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 Leonidis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leonidis
The name Leonidis is derived from the Greek name Leonidas, which has its roots in the ancient Greek words "leon" meaning lion, and "ide" meaning son or descendant. This connection to the majestic lion reflects the strength, courage, and nobility associated with the name.
The earliest recorded use of the name Leonidas dates back to the 5th century BC, when it was borne by the legendary Spartan king Leonidas I, who famously led a small army of Greeks against the vastly larger Persian forces at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. His heroic last stand against the invading Persians has become an enduring symbol of bravery and self-sacrifice.
In ancient Greek literature, the name Leonidas appears in several works, including Herodotus' "Histories," which recounts the events of the Greco-Persian Wars, and Plutarch's "Parallel Lives," a collection of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Leonidis or its variants. One of the earliest was Leonidas II, a king of Sparta who reigned in the 3rd century BC and was known for his military campaigns against the Achaean League.
In the Byzantine era, Leonidas was the name of a prominent general who served under the emperor Heraclius in the 7th century AD and played a crucial role in the Byzantine–Sassanid War against the Persians.
During the Renaissance, the Italian humanist and scholar Leonidas Tomaeus (1456-1531) gained recognition for his translations of ancient Greek texts and his commentaries on classical literature.
In more recent times, the name Leonidas has been associated with several notable figures, including the Greek revolutionary Leonidas Kolokotronis (1770-1843), who played a leading role in the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule.
Another prominent bearer of the name was the Belarusian writer and playwright Leonidas Muratau (1913-1982), whose works explored themes of rural life and the Belarusian national identity.
People
Leonidis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leonidis 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
Leonidis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leonidis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leonidis 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Leonidis a common name?
We classify Leonidis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leonidis most popular?
The single biggest year for Leonidis was 2012, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leonidis is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Leonidis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leonidis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leonidis 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 Leonidis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leonidis 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 Leonidis 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Leonidis?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Leonidis, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.