boy's name
Legend
LEJ-und
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 27,057
the United States
#193
2025 births
Legend is a boy's name taken directly from the English word, which comes from the Latin legenda, meaning "things to be read." It originally described the written life of a saint, read aloud on their feast day, long before it meant a famous story or person.
- Legend is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 3,243 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,761 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1993.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Legend over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 217 |
| 2000s | 934 |
| 2010s | 9,734 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 15,888 |
What Legend means
Legend means a story handed down, and by extension a person famous enough to be one. Its Latin root is more specific and less grand: legenda meant simply things that ought to be read.
Where Legend comes from
Legend comes through Old French from the medieval Latin legenda, a gerundive of legere, to read — literally the things to be read. In monastic practice a legenda was the account of a saint's life read aloud on the appropriate day, and the word carried no sense of grandeur or of doubtful truth. Both later meanings developed from that use: because saints' lives contained miraculous material, legend came to suggest a story that may not be literally true, and because those stories concerned notable figures, it came to describe a notable figure directly. As a given name Legend is recent, with United States birth records showing it from 1993 and rising sharply through the 2010s, part of a broader adoption of English virtue and aspiration words as names.
Legend in use
A legend was originally just a text to be read aloud on a saint's day — the sense of fame came centuries later.
How popular is Legend?
In 2025, Legend was given to 1,883 babies in the United States, ranking #193 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Legend 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 Legend
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Legend also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Legend over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Legend
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Sibling names for Legend
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Legend — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Legend
What does the name Legend mean?
It is the English word, from the Latin legenda, meaning "things to be read."
Where does the word legend come from?
From medieval Latin, where a legenda was the account of a saint's life read aloud on their feast day.
When did Legend become a name?
US birth records first register it in 1993, and it rose sharply through the 2010s.
How popular is the name Legend?
In 2025, Legend was given to 1,883 babies in the United States, ranking #193 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Legend a girl's or a boy's name?
Legend is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Legend?
Legend has 2 syllables.
When was Legend most popular?
Legend peaked in 2021, when 3,243 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Legend?
Legend is usually shortened to Ledge.
Is Legend a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Legend currently ranks #193 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.