unisex name
Lee
LEE
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 319,847
the United States
#725
2025 births
Lee is a name from the Old English word for a woodland clearing, and it is one of the most productive elements in English place names — the ending of Ashley, Bradley, Shirley and Beverly. About 20 percent of the births in our records are female.
- Lee is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1956, when 5,448 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 8,567 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lee over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 4,439 |
| 1890s | 5,200 |
| 1900s | 6,674 |
| 1910s | 19,263 |
| 1920s | 28,586 |
| 1930s | 28,425 |
| 1940s | 37,781 |
| 1950s | 49,687 |
| 1960s | 43,300 |
| 1970s | 28,136 |
| 1980s | 23,530 |
| 1990s | 10,246 |
| 2000s | 4,531 |
| 2010s | 3,806 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,322 |
What Lee means
Lee means a clearing, or a meadow cut from woodland. The Old English word names the open ground rather than the wood around it, so the sense is land made usable.
Where Lee comes from
Lee is the Old English leah, a clearing in woodland, and it is among the most productive elements in English place names — the -ley or -leigh that ends Ashley, Bradley, Shirley, Beverly, Hadley and several thousand villages. Clearings cut from forest were the basic unit of Anglo-Saxon settlement, which is why the word is everywhere. As a given name it is largely American, and its use owes a good deal to Robert E. Lee, which is why it rose sharply in the American South after 1865. Lee is also an entirely separate Chinese and Korean surname, romanising 李 and 이, borne by far more people worldwide than the English one.
Lee in use
Lee peaked in the United States in 1956, when 5,448 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 352nd in Ireland on 11 births, 725th in the United States on 387, 742nd in Scotland, 1096th in England and Wales on 27 and 5246th in France, across 319,847 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. About 20 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Lee?
In 2025, Lee was given to 387 babies in the United States, ranking #725 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Lee 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.
Names that peaked alongside Lee
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lee also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lee over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lee 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 Lee
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lee — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lee
What does the name Lee mean?
A woodland clearing — the Old English leah, which ends thousands of English place names.
Is it Lee or Leigh?
Both spell the same Old English word. Leigh is more often female in British usage.
Is Lee a Chinese name?
A separate one — Lee also romanises the Chinese 李 and Korean 이, borne by far more people than the English name.
Is Lee a boys' or girls' name?
Predominantly male in our data, with about 20 percent of recorded births female.
How popular is the name Lee?
In 2025, Lee was given to 387 babies in the United States, ranking #725 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Lee?
Lee has 1 syllable.
When was Lee most popular?
Lee peaked in 1956, when 5,448 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Lee a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lee currently ranks #352 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.