Meaning not yet researched.
Lea: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 321 in 2025. Its best rank was #397 in 1970.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #397 in 1970; #848 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Lea in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#848 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1970, at #397.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Lea: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 321 girls in 2025. Peak: #397 in 1970 · most girls in one year: 593 (1970).
In 2025, 321 US girls were named Lea, making it the 848th most common girls’ name of the year, down 15 places from #833 in 2024. That is 6 fewer than the 327 girls named Lea in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #397, reached in 1970. That year also had the most girls given the name: 593. For comparison, it was #739 in 2015 and #704 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Lea in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 7 babies with the name. In all, 34,468 US babies have been given the name, 98% of them girls and 1.8% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1960s, with 4,554 babies named Lea.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 3,658 US girls were named Lea; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 422. In 2025 that was about 1 in 5,007 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Lea ranked highest in New York in 2025, at #435 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Leah (256,954 babies since 1880), Lia (28,516 babies since 1880), Leia (18,778 babies since 1880) and Leya (1,705 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Lehua, Lyia and Lehia are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Italian and Slovene. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Lehua (319), Lyia (11), Lehia (7), Llia (6), Liha (6), Leja (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Lea in the open dataset we use.
Lea is listed as a nickname for Leanne.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 30 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 40 | #435 | #344 |
| New Jersey | 14 | #552 | #422 |
| Illinois | 17 | #589 | #746 |
| Mississippi | 5 | #594 | — |
| California | 48 | #651 | #489 |
| Florida | 24 | #704 | #547 |
| Pennsylvania | 13 | #743 | #853 |
| Indiana | 8 | #767 | — |
| Virginia | 9 | #807 | #755 |
| Texas | 37 | #812 | #773 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | #829 | #543 |
| Ohio | 11 | #847 | #1,591 |
| South Carolina | 5 | #859 | — |
| Michigan | 8 | #914 | #871 |
| Maryland | 5 | #930 | #549 |
| Arizona | 6 | #982 | #1,038 |
| Colorado | 5 | #992 | #975 |
| Washington | 5 | #1,161 | #1,039 |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,223 | #1,043 |
| Tennessee | 5 | #1,234 | — |
| Georgia | 7 | #1,296 | #1,141 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 321 | #848 | — | — |
| 2024 | 327 | #833 | — | — |
| 2023 | 349 | #804 | — | — |
| 2022 | 362 | #786 | — | — |
| 2021 | 378 | #754 | — | — |
| 2020 | 363 | #751 | — | — |
| 2019 | 389 | #727 | — | — |
| 2018 | 410 | #710 | — | — |
| 2017 | 337 | #810 | — | — |
| 2016 | 422 | #690 | — | — |
| 2015 | 382 | #739 | — | — |
| 2014 | 416 | #682 | — | — |
| 2013 | 473 | #599 | — | — |
| 2012 | 470 | #610 | — | — |
| 2011 | 528 | #556 | — | — |
| 2010 | 514 | #569 | — | — |
| 2009 | 431 | #675 | — | — |
| 2008 | 479 | #643 | — | — |
| 2007 | 432 | #680 | — | — |
| 2006 | 481 | #608 | — | — |
| 2005 | 473 | #602 | — | — |
| 2004 | 446 | #616 | — | — |
| 2003 | 396 | #669 | — | — |
| 2002 | 382 | #665 | — | — |
| 2001 | 363 | #685 | — | — |
| 2000 | 367 | #663 | — | — |
| 1999 | 365 | #643 | — | — |
| 1998 | 365 | #637 | — | — |
| 1997 | 367 | #615 | — | — |
| 1996 | 409 | #568 | — | — |
| 1995 | 332 | #649 | — | — |
| 1994 | 378 | #595 | — | — |
| 1993 | 402 | #584 | — | — |
| 1992 | 358 | #631 | — | — |
| 1991 | 389 | #589 | — | — |
| 1990 | 466 | #516 | — | — |
| 1989 | 395 | #565 | 5 | #8,683 |
| 1988 | 402 | #544 | 7 | #6,176 |
| 1987 | 357 | #561 | — | — |
| 1986 | 345 | #570 | — | — |
| 1985 | 378 | #528 | 5 | #7,140 |
| 1984 | 404 | #494 | 5 | #6,922 |
| 1983 | 349 | #537 | 8 | #4,736 |
| 1982 | 384 | #519 | 7 | #5,359 |
| 1981 | 466 | #460 | 5 | #6,862 |
| 1980 | 464 | #457 | — | — |
| 1979 | 472 | #436 | 6 | #5,776 |
| 1978 | 385 | #502 | 7 | #4,835 |
| 1977 | 398 | #481 | — | — |
| 1976 | 349 | #510 | — | — |
| 1975 | 403 | #466 | 7 | #4,593 |
| 1974 | 449 | #431 | 10 | #3,462 |
| 1973 | 424 | #445 | — | — |
| 1972 | 444 | #434 | — | — |
| 1971 | 536 | #400 | 5 | #5,340 |
| 1970 | 593 | #397 | 7 | #4,077 |
| 1969 | 527 | #419 | 6 | #4,205 |
| 1968 | 491 | #428 | 6 | #3,953 |
| 1967 | 519 | #403 | 7 | #3,426 |
| 1966 | 465 | #436 | — | — |
| 1965 | 442 | #455 | 6 | #3,748 |
| 1964 | 403 | #482 | 12 | #2,495 |
| 1963 | 450 | #458 | 7 | #3,519 |
| 1962 | 420 | #471 | 6 | #3,854 |
| 1961 | 403 | #483 | 6 | #3,878 |
| 1960 | 373 | #503 | 5 | #4,366 |
| 1959 | 416 | #475 | — | — |
| 1958 | 446 | #450 | 9 | #2,936 |
| 1957 | 342 | #518 | 6 | #3,797 |
| 1956 | 382 | #478 | 9 | #2,889 |
| 1955 | 338 | #502 | 5 | #4,158 |
| 1954 | 243 | #580 | — | — |
| 1953 | 192 | #644 | 6 | #3,633 |
| 1952 | 210 | #599 | 9 | #2,795 |
| 1951 | 171 | #670 | 8 | #2,966 |
| 1950 | 149 | #704 | 9 | #2,689 |
| 1949 | 131 | #748 | 8 | #2,914 |
| 1948 | 153 | #673 | 5 | #3,966 |
| 1947 | 153 | #680 | 8 | #2,999 |
| 1946 | 122 | #735 | 7 | #3,056 |
| 1945 | 95 | #770 | 7 | #2,887 |
| 1944 | 83 | #840 | — | — |
| 1943 | 92 | #803 | 14 | #2,038 |
| 1942 | 96 | #775 | 9 | #2,621 |
| 1941 | 97 | #715 | 10 | #2,420 |
| 1940 | 77 | #813 | 6 | #3,313 |
| 1939 | 65 | #871 | — | — |
| 1938 | 72 | #836 | — | — |
| 1937 | 78 | #777 | 6 | #3,355 |
| 1936 | 59 | #891 | 9 | #2,544 |
| 1935 | 62 | #878 | 6 | #3,464 |
| 1934 | 70 | #806 | 11 | #2,342 |
| 1933 | 65 | #831 | 14 | #1,967 |
| 1932 | 53 | #974 | 8 | #2,988 |
| 1931 | 71 | #808 | 16 | #1,893 |
| 1930 | 76 | #813 | 11 | #2,538 |
| 1929 | 60 | #926 | 13 | #2,266 |
| 1928 | 73 | #849 | 9 | #2,965 |
| 1927 | 69 | #900 | 12 | #2,472 |
| 1926 | 67 | #916 | 21 | #1,687 |
| 1925 | 59 | #970 | 21 | #1,717 |
| 1924 | 61 | #981 | 13 | #2,417 |
| 1923 | 66 | #904 | 18 | #1,910 |
| 1922 | 82 | #806 | 11 | #2,725 |
| 1921 | 64 | #931 | 11 | #2,720 |
| 1920 | 62 | #925 | 12 | #2,536 |
| 1919 | 76 | #808 | 15 | #2,106 |
| 1918 | 93 | #740 | 19 | #1,798 |
| 1917 | 65 | #851 | 8 | #3,074 |
| 1916 | 80 | #768 | 14 | #2,102 |
| 1915 | 58 | #861 | 5 | #4,138 |
| 1914 | 56 | #773 | 6 | #3,104 |
| 1913 | 43 | #807 | 11 | #1,748 |
| 1912 | 45 | #752 | 5 | #2,745 |
| 1911 | 51 | #599 | — | — |
| 1910 | 23 | #904 | — | — |
| 1909 | 27 | #782 | 5 | #1,592 |
| 1908 | 35 | #659 | — | — |
| 1907 | 25 | #755 | — | — |
| 1906 | 24 | #751 | — | — |
| 1905 | 23 | #770 | — | — |
| 1904 | 15 | #951 | — | — |
| 1903 | 16 | #882 | — | — |
| 1902 | 25 | #680 | — | — |
| 1901 | 15 | #870 | — | — |
| 1900 | 29 | #665 | 8 | #1,009 |
| 1899 | 19 | #743 | 5 | #1,143 |
| 1898 | 30 | #591 | — | — |
| 1897 | 15 | #849 | — | — |
| 1896 | 23 | #660 | — | — |
| 1895 | 11 | #1,022 | 7 | #939 |
| 1894 | 27 | #564 | 5 | #1,177 |
| 1893 | 19 | #674 | — | — |
| 1892 | 14 | #816 | — | — |
| 1891 | 15 | #711 | — | — |
| 1890 | 13 | #777 | 5 | #1,090 |
| 1889 | 8 | #993 | — | — |
| 1888 | 17 | #622 | — | — |
| 1887 | 9 | #825 | — | — |
| 1886 | 7 | #949 | — | — |
| 1885 | 16 | #549 | — | — |
| 1884 | 15 | #551 | — | — |
| 1883 | 12 | #572 | — | — |
| 1882 | 6 | #857 | — | — |
| 1881 | 7 | #716 | — | — |
| 1880 | 7 | #709 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).