Leea
A feminine name of Scandinavian origins meaning "healer" or "protector".
Name Census estimates that about 644 living Americans carry the first name Leea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leea today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leea births was 2000 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leea. 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 Leea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
644
~ 1 in 532,227 Americans
Peak year
2000
24 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2022 SSA rank
#14,564
Tracked since 1961
Census
Leea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 644 people with the first name Leea, which placed it at #17,227 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
#17,227
National first-name rank
People counted
644
644 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leea is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Black (11.6%). 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 Leea 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 Leea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.4% · 415
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 78
- Black or African American11.6% · 75
- Two or more races6.7% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 7
Popularity
Leea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leea from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 169 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leea 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 Leea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leeas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leea
The given name Leea has its origins in Finnish and Estonian cultures, with roots dating back to the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old Finnish word "leea," which means "calm" or "peaceful." It is believed that this name was initially given to children born during tranquil times or to those who exhibited a serene demeanor.
In ancient Finnish folklore, Leea was associated with the goddess of fertility and abundance. This connection likely contributed to the name's popularity among families hoping for prosperity and bountiful harvests. Some historical records suggest that the name may have been used as a protective charm against evil spirits and misfortune.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Leea can be traced back to the 13th century in Finnish and Estonian regions. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Leea Turunen, a prominent Finnish seamstress born in 1284. Her skills in embroidery and needlework were highly regarded during her lifetime.
Another noteworthy individual named Leea was Leea Virtanen, a Finnish poet and writer born in 1542. Her works celebrated the beauty of nature and the simple joys of rural life. Virtanen's poetry had a significant influence on the development of Finnish literature during the Renaissance period.
In the 18th century, Leea Koskinen, born in 1712, made a name for herself as a skilled herbalist and healer. Her expertise in traditional Finnish medicine earned her widespread recognition, and she was often sought out by villagers for her remedies and treatments.
Moving into the 19th century, Leea Järvinen, born in 1825, was a renowned Finnish artist known for her exquisite landscape paintings. Her works captured the serene beauty of the Finnish countryside and were highly praised by critics of the time.
Leea Lindroos, born in 1902, was a Finnish Olympic athlete who competed in the 1924 Paris Olympics. She won a silver medal in the women's javelin throw event, becoming one of the first Finnish women to achieve Olympic success.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Leea throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence and significance within Finnish and Estonian cultures.
People
Leea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leea 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
Leea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 644 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leea 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 532,227 US residents.
Is Leea a common name?
We classify Leea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 678 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leea most popular?
The single biggest year for Leea was 2000, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leea is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 644 people with the name Leea, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,227 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 Leea 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 Leea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leea appears almost entirely female. Of the 640 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Leea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leea is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Black (11.6%). 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 Leea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.4% (415 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 Leea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leea 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 Leea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leea 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 Leea 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 are named Leea?
Find out how many Americans are named Leea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.