Lion
A masculine name derived from the animal "lion", symbolizing strength and courage.
Name Census estimates that about 401 living Americans carry the first name Lion. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lion today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lion births was 2022 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lion. 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 Lion with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
401
~ 1 in 854,749 Americans
Peak year
2022
42 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,643
Tracked since 1922
Census
Lion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 518 people with the first name Lion, which placed it at #20,076 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
#20,076
National first-name rank
People counted
518
518 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lion is White at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (16.6%). 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 Lion 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 Lion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.1% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino25.3% · 131
- Black or African American16.6% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.5% · 65
- Two or more races6.8% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 9
Popularity
Lion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lion from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 188 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
Lion 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 Lion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Lion, while Texas, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lion
The name Lion has its origins in the Old French word "lion," which itself derived from the Latin word "leo." This Latin word traces back to the Ancient Greek word "leon," meaning the majestic feline creature. The name Lion was initially popularized in regions where French culture and language had a strong influence, such as parts of Europe and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lion can be found in the late 12th century, with a French knight named Lion de Lusignan. He was a prominent figure during the Third Crusade and served under King Richard I of England. Another notable historical figure with this name was Lion de' Sommi, an Italian Renaissance painter from the late 15th century known for his religious artworks.
In religious texts, the name Lion has symbolic associations with courage, strength, and nobility. In the Bible, the phrase "Lion of Judah" is used as a title for Jesus Christ, reflecting these qualities. The name also appears in various mythological tales and folklore, often representing power and bravery.
One of the most famous individuals named Lion in history was Lion Gardiner, an early English settler in colonial America. He was the founder of the first English settlement on Long Island, New York, in the mid-17th century. Another notable Lion was Lion Feuchtwanger, a German novelist and playwright known for his historical novels, who lived from 1884 to 1958.
In the realm of literature, Lion Feuchtwanger's contemporary, Lion Tolstoy, was a renowned Russian writer and philosopher. His works, such as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina," are considered masterpieces of world literature. Tolstoy lived from 1828 to 1910.
While not as common as some other names, Lion has endured throughout history, carrying connotations of strength, courage, and a connection to the majestic animal from which it derives its meaning.
People
Lion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lion 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
Lion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 401 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lion 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 854,749 US residents.
Is Lion a common name?
We classify Lion as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 410 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lion most popular?
The single biggest year for Lion was 2022, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lion is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 518 people with the name Lion, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,076 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 Lion 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 Lion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lion leans strongly male. 484 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 30 female bearers (5.8%). 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 Lion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lion is White at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.3%) and Black (16.6%). 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 Lion most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.1% (192 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 Lion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lion a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lion 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 Lion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lion 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 Lion 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 common is the name Lion?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.