unisex name · in the US
Lennon
LEN-un (English)
- Origin Irish
- Gender Unisex (US)
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 30,848
the United States
#214
2025 births
Lennon is a unisex name of Irish origin, an anglicized form of the surname Ó Leannáin. Its root is most often read as leannán, meaning sweetheart or lover, though a second reading connects it to a word for a cloak. It is used today almost entirely because of one musician.
- Lennon is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2022, when 1,730 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,917 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lennon Over Time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, which so far covers 2020 to 2025.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 21 |
| 1920s | 77 |
| 1930s | 64 |
| 1940s | 110 |
| 1950s | 124 |
| 1960s | 134 |
| 1970s | 121 |
| 1980s | 248 |
| 1990s | 354 |
| 2000s | 1,555 |
| 2010s | 7,943 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 9,828 |
What Lennon Means
Lennon carries the sense of a sweetheart or beloved, from the Irish leannán. A competing derivation reads the same surname as coming from a word meaning cloak or mantle, and reference sources split between the two rather than agreeing on one.
Where Lennon Comes From
Lennon comes from the Irish Ó Leannáin, meaning descendant of Leannán, a byname whose root is generally taken as leannán — a sweetheart, and in older usage a familiar spirit or muse. The rival reading traces it to lenn, a cloak, giving a nickname sense for someone known by what they wore. Both are defensible and neither is settled. As a first name it is almost entirely modern and almost entirely a tribute: it followed John Lennon into use after 1980, and unlike most surname-names it has been given to girls as readily as to boys from the start.
Lennon in Use
Lennon is one of the few names that charts in all five English-speaking markets while remaining outside the top 400 in each of them individually.
How Popular Is Lennon?
In 2025, Lennon was given to 1,729 babies in the United States, ranking #214 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
Where Lennon 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 Lennon
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents Who Like Lennon Also Like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lennon over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Boys' or Girls' Name?
Lennon is used differently depending on where you are. Each figure is the share of babies given the name who were girls, over the last ten years of that country's records.
- United States Both 74% girls · 14,267 babies
- Canada Both 74% girls · 2,409 babies
- England & Wales Boys' 9% girls · 1,996 babies
- Ireland Boys' 4% girls · 185 babies
- Scotland Boys' 2% girls · 145 babies
- France Boys' 0% girls · 100 babies
How to Say Lennon
- English LEN-un /ˈlɛnən/
2 nicknames for Lennon
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.
Lennon 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Lennan
Sibling Names for Lennon
Names from the same era that do not rhyme or share an initial with Lennon — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common Questions About Lennon
What does the name Lennon mean?
Lennon is most often read as sweetheart or lover, from the Irish leannán, though some sources derive it instead from a word meaning cloak.
Is Lennon a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, and unusually for a surname name it has been used for girls and boys in similar numbers since it entered use.
Is Lennon named after John Lennon?
Almost always. The name barely registered before 1980 and its use as a first name follows the musician rather than the Irish surname directly.
How popular is the name Lennon?
In 2025, Lennon was given to 1,729 babies in the United States, ranking #214 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
How many syllables are in Lennon?
Lennon has 2 syllables.
When was Lennon most popular?
Lennon peaked in 2022, when 1,730 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Lennon?
Lennon is usually shortened to Len and Lenny.
Is Lennon a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lennon currently ranks #116 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.