Leanna
Feminine form of Leo, meaning "brave as a lion" in Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 22,119 living Americans carry the first name Leanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leanna today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leanna births was 1990 (675 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leanna. 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 Leanna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,496 Americans
Peak year
1990
675 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
1987 SSA rank
#903
Tracked since 1880
Census
Leanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 20,019 people with the first name Leanna, which placed it at #1,601 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
#1,601
National first-name rank
People counted
20K
20,019 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leanna is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.7%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Leanna 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 Leanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 13,354
- Hispanic or Latino14.7% · 2,952
- Black or African American8.5% · 1,706
- Two or more races4.8% · 955
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 800
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 252
Gender
Gender distribution for Leanna
Out of the 25,635 babies given the name Leanna since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Leanna as a male name
- Ranked #7,655 in 1987
- 5 male births in 1987
- Peak: 1987 (5 births)
Leanna as a female name
- Ranked #903 in 2024
- 293 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (675 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 20,013 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Leanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leanna from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,820 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leanna 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 Leanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Leanna, while New Hampshire, Montana, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 460 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leanna
The name Leanna has its origins in the Greek language. It is a combination of two words - "leios" meaning "smooth" or "gentle," and "anna" meaning "grace" or "favor." Together, the name Leanna conveys a sense of gentleness and graciousness.
In ancient Greek texts, the name was often associated with the goddess Artemis, who was revered for her grace, beauty, and skill as a huntress. The earliest recorded use of the name Leanna dates back to the 5th century BC, when it was mentioned in a play by the Greek playwright Aeschylus.
During the Middle Ages, the name Leanna found its way into various European cultures, particularly in Italy and France. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Leanna of Saluzzo, an Italian noblewoman who lived in the 13th century.
In the 16th century, the name gained popularity in England, where it was often spelled as "Liana" or "Leana." One notable bearer of this name was Leanna Donne, the daughter of the famous poet John Donne (1572-1631).
Over the centuries, several other notable individuals have borne the name Leanna. These include Leanna Walcott (1836-1915), an American writer and activist; Leanna Creel (1870-1944), an American actress; and Leanna Love (1913-1986), an American singer and actress.
Another famous bearer of the name was Leanna Tobin (1907-1976), an American painter and sculptor who was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Additionally, Leanna Rhodes (1920-1995) was a British actress and singer who appeared in several films and television shows during the mid-20th century.
While the name Leanna has ancient roots, it continues to be a popular choice for parents today, owing to its unique blend of grace, gentleness, and strength.
People
Leanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leanna 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
Leanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22,119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leanna 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 15,496 US residents.
Is Leanna a common name?
We classify Leanna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25,635 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Leanna was 1990, when 675 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leanna is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 20,019 people with the name Leanna, or 6.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,601 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 Leanna 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 Leanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 20,013 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Leanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leanna is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.7%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Leanna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (13,354 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 Leanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leanna 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 Leanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leanna 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 Leanna 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 Leanna?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Leanna at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.