Leonore
A feminine name of German origin meaning "lioness" or "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 552 living Americans carry the first name Leonore. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leonore today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leonore births was 1928 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leonore. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Leonore with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
552
~ 1 in 620,932 Americans
Peak year
1928
70 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,671
Tracked since 1881
Census
Leonore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,025 people with the first name Leonore, which placed it at #12,212 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
#12,212
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,025 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leonore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leonore is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.8%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Leonore 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 Leonore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 658
- Hispanic or Latino25.8% · 264
- Black or African American4.2% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 36
- Two or more races1.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Popularity
Leonore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leonore from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 595 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
Leonore 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 Leonore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leonores live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the most babies named Leonore, while New Jersey, Massachusetts, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 136 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leonore
Leonore is a feminine given name of Germanic origin, derived from the Old High German name Lionnord or Leonhard, which is composed of the elements "lewo" (lion) and "hard" (brave or hardy). The name was initially associated with strength, courage, and nobility, qualities symbolized by the lion.
The name Leonore gained widespread popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions such as Germany, France, and the Low Countries. It was often bestowed upon women of noble birth or those with a strong and independent spirit. The variant spellings Leonora and Eleonore were also common during this period.
One of the earliest known references to the name Leonore can be found in the 8th century poem "Nibelungenlied," which tells the story of a brave and loyal woman named Leonore. Additionally, the name appears in various religious texts and medieval chronicles, further solidifying its significance during that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Leonore. One of the most renowned was Leonore of Aquitaine (1122-1199), a powerful and influential figure in the court of King Henry II of England. Another notable Leonore was Leonore of Portugal (1458-1525), a Portuguese princess who served as the Queen of Portugal and later as the Queen of Aragon and Sicily.
In the realm of literature, the name Leonore is perhaps best known through the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. His play "Torquato Tasso" features a character named Leonore d'Este, while his famous poem "Faust" includes the character of Gretchen, whose full name is Margarethe Leonore.
Other notable Leonores include Leonore Tawney (1876-1964), an American teacher and social activist, and Leonore Annenberg (1918-2009), a renowned American philanthropist and diplomat.
The name Leonore has endured throughout the centuries, carrying with it a sense of strength, nobility, and resilience. Its rich history and cultural significance have ensured its continued popularity across various regions and cultures, making it a timeless and iconic name.
People
Leonore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leonore 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
Leonore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leonore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 552 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leonore 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 620,932 US residents.
Is Leonore a common name?
We classify Leonore as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,306 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leonore most popular?
The single biggest year for Leonore was 1928, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leonore is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leonore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,025 people with the name Leonore, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,212 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 Leonore 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 Leonore?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leonore leans strongly female. 1,014 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Leonore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leonore is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.8%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Leonore most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leonore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (658 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 Leonore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leonore a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leonore 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 Leonore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leonore 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 Leonore 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 Americans are named Leonore?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.