boy's name
Leandro
lay-AN-dro
- Origin Italian
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 23,109
the United States
#406
2025 births
Leandro is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "lion-man," borne by a lover who drowned swimming a strait to reach her. It ranks 165th in France and 406th in the United States, and it is rising.
- Leandro is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 785 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,223 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1906.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Leandro over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 17 |
| 1910s | 103 |
| 1920s | 206 |
| 1930s | 247 |
| 1940s | 224 |
| 1950s | 243 |
| 1960s | 313 |
| 1970s | 390 |
| 1980s | 438 |
| 1990s | 621 |
| 2000s | 1,751 |
| 2010s | 3,149 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,376 |
What Leandro means
Leandro means lion-man, from the Greek leon, a lion, and andros, of man. Both elements are plain nouns, so the compound is literal — a man like a lion — rather than metaphorical in construction.
Where Leandro comes from
Leandro is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of the Greek Leandros, from leon and andros. Its bearer is the Leander of the Hero and Leander story: he swims the Hellespont each night guided by a lamp Hero holds in her tower, and drowns when a storm puts it out, whereupon she throws herself from the tower. The tale was told by Musaeus in late antiquity and retold by Marlowe, Schiller and Keats. Byron swam the Hellespont in 1810 to prove it possible and never stopped mentioning it. Saint Leander of Seville was a sixth-century bishop who converted the Visigothic kings from Arianism and was the brother of Isidore of Seville. The name's French standing follows Portuguese, Spanish and Italian migration rather than any French tradition.
Leandro in use
Leandro ranks 165th in France with about 525 births in 2025 and 406th in the United States with 785 births, its largest market, where Hispanic and Brazilian use carries the volume. It is rising with a peak in 2025. Our records carry it from 1906. It holds 761st in England and Wales, so it has more British reach than most Romance-language names in the French top 200.
How popular is Leandro?
In 2025, Leandro was given to 785 babies in the United States, ranking #406 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Leandro is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Leandro is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Léandro | Léandro is Leandro written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #165. | 4,810 |
| Lëandro | Lëandro is a rare spelling of Leandro, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Leandro
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Leandro also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leandro over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Leandro in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Leandro
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Leandro — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Leandro
What does the name Leandro mean?
Leandro means "lion-man," from the Greek leon, a lion, and andros, of man.
Who was Leander?
He swam the Hellespont nightly to reach Hero and drowned when the lamp guiding him went out.
Did anyone really swim the Hellespont?
Byron did, in 1810, to prove the story possible — and mentioned it for the rest of his life.
How popular is Leandro?
165th in France and 406th in the United States.
Is Leandro a girl's or a boy's name?
Leandro is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Leandro?
Leandro has 3 syllables.
Is Leandro a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leandro currently ranks #165 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.