Levent
A masculine Turkish name meaning "light breeze" or "wind".
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the first name Levent. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Levent today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Levent births was 2015 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Levent. 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 Levent with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
134
~ 1 in 2,557,868 Americans
Peak year
2015
13 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,052
Tracked since 1979
Census
Levent in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 499 people with the first name Levent, which placed it at #20,625 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
#20,625
National first-name rank
People counted
499
499 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Levent
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Levent is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Levent 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 Levent at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 466
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 14
- Two or more races2.2% · 11
- Black or African American1.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Levent: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Levent from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Levent remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Levent 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 Levent during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Levents live
Origin
Meaning and history of Levent
The name Levent has its origins in the Turkish language. It is derived from the word "levent," which means "brave" or "courageous." The name became popular in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire era, which spanned from the late 13th to the early 20th century.
Levent is believed to have been used as a name for boys who displayed strength and bravery from a young age. It was often given to sons born into military families or those who were expected to serve in the Ottoman army or navy.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Levent can be found in the 16th-century Ottoman travel book, "Seyahatname" by Evliya Çelebi. In this work, Çelebi mentions a brave Ottoman soldier named Levent who fought valiantly in the Siege of Vienna in 1683.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Levent was Levent Raif Dinç (1888-1972), a Turkish general who served in the Ottoman army and later became a prominent military figure during the Turkish War of Independence.
Another famous Levent was Levent Pasha (1491-1537), an Ottoman governor and naval commander who played a significant role in the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes and other Mediterranean islands in the early 16th century.
In the realm of literature, Levent Uzüner (born 1952) is a renowned Turkish author and journalist who has written several novels and short story collections exploring themes of Turkish culture and identity.
Levent Kırca (1949-2015) was a respected Turkish actor and playwright who appeared in numerous films, television shows, and theater productions throughout his career, earning critical acclaim for his versatile performances.
Levent Yavaş (born 1965) is a Turkish politician who currently serves as the Mayor of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. He is known for his efforts to promote transparency and efficiency in local government.
While the name Levent has its roots in the Turkish language and culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among families with Turkish heritage or connections to the region.
People
Levent + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Levent 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
Levent: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Levent?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 134 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Levent 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 2,557,868 US residents.
Is Levent a common name?
We classify Levent as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 135 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Levent most popular?
The single biggest year for Levent was 2015, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Levent is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Levent in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 499 people with the name Levent, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,625 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 Levent 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 Levent?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Levent appears almost entirely male. Of the 500 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Levent?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Levent is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Levent most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Levent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (466 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 Levent in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Levent a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Levent 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 Levent still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Levent 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 Levent 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 Levent as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.