boy's name
Leland
LEE-lund
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 61,646
the United States
#494
2025 births
Leland means fallow land — ground deliberately left unplowed for a season. It is one of the few names that describes a farming decision rather than a place, a person or a virtue. It was a surname long before it was a given name.
- Leland is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2007, when 1,035 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,296 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Leland 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 | 208 |
| 1890s | 544 |
| 1900s | 776 |
| 1910s | 4,430 |
| 1920s | 8,085 |
| 1930s | 6,319 |
| 1940s | 6,280 |
| 1950s | 5,267 |
| 1960s | 3,550 |
| 1970s | 2,295 |
| 1980s | 2,115 |
| 1990s | 1,905 |
| 2000s | 4,622 |
| 2010s | 8,365 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,795 |
What Leland means
Leland means fallow or untilled land. The Old English describes ground rested rather than worked, so the name records a state of cultivation rather than a landscape feature.
Where Leland comes from
Leland is an English surname from the Old English læge land — land lying fallow, left unsown so it could recover. It is the same læge behind the modern lay in lay of the land, and the practice was central to open-field farming. Leland Stanford, railroad magnate and governor of California, founded Stanford University as a memorial to his son, who died at fifteen — which is why the university's full name carries the boy's name and not his.
Leland in use
Leland peaked in the United States in 2007, when 1,035 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 494th in the United States on 626 births, 797th in Scotland on 3 and 2787th in England and Wales on 8, across 61,646 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Leland?
In 2025, Leland was given to 626 babies in the United States, ranking #494 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Leland 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 Leland
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Leland also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leland over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Leland
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.
Leland 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 Leland
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Leland — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Leland
What does the name Leland mean?
Fallow land — ground left unsown for a season so it could recover.
Is lay of the land related?
Yes, through the same Old English læge.
Who was Leland Stanford?
The founder of Stanford University, built as a memorial to his son who died at fifteen.
How popular is Leland?
494th in the United States, and stable rather than falling in our data.
Is Leland a girl's or a boy's name?
Leland is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Leland?
Leland has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Leland?
Leland is usually shortened to Lee.
Is Leland a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leland currently ranks #494 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.