unisex name
Leigh
LEE
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 49,861
Northern Ireland
#436
2009 births
Leigh means a woodland clearing, and the same word is hiding at the end of dozens of modern names — the -leigh in Kayleigh and Ashlyn's cousins is this word, borrowed for its sound rather than its sense.
- Leigh is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1969, when 1,641 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 106,952 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Leigh started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Leigh 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 | 33 |
| 1890s | 50 |
| 1900s | 16 |
| 1910s | 270 |
| 1920s | 472 |
| 1930s | 537 |
| 1940s | 1,590 |
| 1950s | 5,024 |
| 1960s | 11,473 |
| 1970s | 12,011 |
| 1980s | 9,048 |
| 1990s | 3,157 |
| 2000s | 837 |
| 2010s | 556 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 275 |
What Leigh means
Leigh means a clearing in woodland, or open ground within a wood. It names a kind of place, so it locates a family rather than describing anyone.
Where Leigh comes from
Leigh is the Old English leah, a clearing in woodland — one of the commonest elements in English place names, sitting behind Bromley, Hadleigh and hundreds of others. It became a surname for someone living at one. Modern naming has taken it as a decorative suffix, which is how the -leigh in Kayleigh, Ashleigh and Rayleigh arrived; the sense is not intended in any of them. About 88 percent of recorded births are female.
Leigh in use
Leigh peaked in the United States in 1969, when 1,641 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 4462nd in the United States on 31 births, across 49,861 lifetime births. England and Wales ran its own peak of 173 births in 1996 and Scotland 139 in 1977, both since dropped out of the rankings.
How popular is Leigh?
In 2025, Leigh was given to 31 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Leigh 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 Leigh
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Leigh also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leigh over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Leigh 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.
- Dutch
- Leah
Sibling names for Leigh
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Leigh — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Leigh
What does the name Leigh mean?
A woodland clearing — the Old English leah.
Is the -leigh in Kayleigh the same?
The same word, but borrowed for its sound. The sense is not intended.
Is Leigh a boys' or girls' name?
Mostly girls — about 88 percent of the births in our records are female.
Is Lee the same name?
Yes — the same word under a different spelling.
How popular is the name Leigh?
In 2025, Leigh was given to 31 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
How many syllables are in Leigh?
Leigh has 1 syllable.
When was Leigh most popular?
Leigh peaked in 1969, when 1,641 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Leigh a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leigh currently ranks #4,462 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.