Lyonel
The given name Lyonel means "young lion" in French.
Name Census estimates that about 235 living Americans carry the first name Lyonel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lyonel today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lyonel births was 2012 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lyonel. 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
235
~ 1 in 1,458,529 Americans
Peak year
2012
11 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,777
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Lyonel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lyonel from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 71 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lyonel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lyonel 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 Lyonel 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 Lyonel
The given name Lyonel has its origins in the French language and culture. It is a masculine name derived from the ancient Germanic name Leonhard, which was composed of the elements "lewo" meaning "lion" and "hart" meaning "brave" or "hardy." The name was popularized in France during the Middle Ages, where it took on various spellings including Lyonel, Leonel, and Lionel.
The name Lyonel can be traced back to the 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Lyonel d'Angers, a French nobleman who lived during the reign of King Philip II of France (1180-1223). Another notable early bearer of the name was Lyonel de Woodville, an English courtier and soldier who served under King Edward IV in the 15th century (c. 1442-1484).
In literature, the name Lyonel is associated with the Arthurian legends, specifically in Thomas Malory's 15th-century work "Le Morte d'Arthur." In this work, Lyonel is portrayed as one of the Knights of the Round Table and is described as a valiant and skilled warrior.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lyonel. One of the most prominent was Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956), an American painter and caricaturist of German descent who was closely associated with the Bauhaus movement in the early 20th century.
Another notable Lyonel was Lyonel Logue (1880-1953), an Australian speech therapist who worked with King George VI of the United Kingdom to help him overcome his stammer. Logue's work with the King was depicted in the 2010 film "The King's Speech."
In the realm of sports, Lyonel Troughton (1871-1932) was an English cricketer who played for the Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England national team in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Other notable individuals with the name Lyonel include Lyonel Atterbury (1853-1938), an American actor and playwright, and Lyonel Hubbard (1902-1976), an American businessman and politician who served as the Treasurer of the United States under President Harry S. Truman.
People
Lyonel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lyonel 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
Lyonel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lyonel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lyonel 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 1,458,529 US residents.
Is Lyonel a common name?
We classify Lyonel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 252 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lyonel most popular?
The single biggest year for Lyonel was 2012, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lyonel is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lyonel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lyonel 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.