boy's name

Lief

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 1
  • Letters 4
  • Births on record 282

Lief is a boy's name with 1 syllable. In 2023 it was given to 11 babies in the United States. It was given to fewer than five babies in the most recent year of published US data.

  • Peaked in 1999, when 12 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1948.
  • 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.

Lief over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2023, not a full ten years.

66
'40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Lief by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1940s 6
1950s 16
1960s 43
1970s 66
1980s 46
1990s 38
2000s 31
2010s 14
2020s (to 2023) 19

How popular is Lief?

In 2023, Lief was given to 11 babies in the United States. It was given to fewer than five babies in the most recent year of published US data.

Where Lief is used

England & Wales #5,407 3 in 2010
United States #7,480 11 in 2023

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

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 Lief

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Lief also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lief over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Lief

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lief — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Lief

How popular is the name Lief?

In 2023, Lief was given to 11 babies in the United States. It was given to fewer than five babies in the most recent year of published US data.

Is Lief a girl's or a boy's name?

Lief is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Lief?

Lief has 1 syllable.

When was Lief most popular?

Lief peaked in 1999, when 12 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.