Leyland
From an English place name, possibly meaning "rising land cultivated with leeks".
Name Census estimates that about 289 living Americans carry the first name Leyland. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Leyland today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leyland births was 2015 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leyland. 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
289
~ 1 in 1,186,001 Americans
Peak year
2015
21 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,510
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Leyland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leyland from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 167 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leyland 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 Leyland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leylands live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leyland
The name Leyland has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the words "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest, and "land" meaning land or territory. The name was commonly used in the northern counties of England, particularly in Lancashire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leyland can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as the name of a settlement in Lancashire. This suggests that the name was already in use as a place name during the medieval period.
In the 13th century, the name Leyland appeared in various historical records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire, where it was often used as a surname for people hailing from the town of Leyland.
The earliest known individual with the first name Leyland was Leyland de Chorley, a landowner and nobleman who lived in the 14th century. He was mentioned in several charters and legal documents from the time, indicating that the name was used as a given name during this period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the first name Leyland. One of the most famous was Leyland Bassett (1801-1876), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Exchange and the Reform Club.
Another prominent figure was Leyland Huntington (1870-1922), an American businessman and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the oil industry in California. He founded the Huntington Beach Company and was instrumental in the growth of the city of Huntington Beach.
In the realm of sports, Leyland Guion Stevenson (1892-1962) was a British athlete who competed in the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. He won a gold medal in the 4x400 meter relay at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.
The name Leyland also appeared in the literary world with Leyland Bryans (1901-1986), an American author and playwright who wrote several successful novels and plays in the mid-20th century.
Finally, Leyland Hazlewood (1929-2007) was an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work with Lee Hazlewood and for co-writing the hit song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for Nancy Sinatra.
People
Leyland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leyland 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
Leyland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leyland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 289 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leyland 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 1,186,001 US residents.
Is Leyland a common name?
We classify Leyland as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leyland most popular?
The single biggest year for Leyland was 2015, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leyland is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leyland a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leyland 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.
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.