Leonidas
From Greek, carrying the sense of a lion, "son of a lion". Still rare in Poland: most people here have never met one, but the count of newborns is climbing, with more boys given it last year than in years past.
Leonidas Pronunciation
Leonidas is pronounced le-o-NYEE-dahs (/lɛɔˈɲidas/).
What Leonidas means
Where Leonidas comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Leonidas comes from Greek. The root is leon, the lion, joined to the patronymic ending -idas, which marks descent. The name reads as son of a lion, one like a lion. The Latin leo is its close cousin.
One man fixed the name in memory. Leonidas I, king of Sparta, held the pass at Thermopylae in 480 BC against the Persian army. He died there with a small force. Ancient writers kept his reply to the demand that he give up his weapons: come and take them.
In a Polish class register, Leonidas stands apart from the Kacpers and Antonis around it. A teacher reading the roll slows on those four syllables.
The meaning holds without decoration: lion, son of a lion.
How many people are named Leonidas
1 in 152473 men in Poland is named Leonidas. 142 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2749 among male names.
Leonidas's popularity over time
7 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #814 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2020.
Where Leonidas is most popular
Leonidas is most popular in Pomeranian, 167% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+150%) and Lesser Poland (+73%).
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Pomeranian2 boys born+167%
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Lower Silesian2 boys born+150%
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Lesser Poland2 boys born+73%
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Silesian2 boys born+73%
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Masovian3 boys born+66%
Leonidas as a middle name
Leonidas is a first name for 142 men in Poland and a middle name for another 45, a 76/24 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1160th, between Lennart (45) and Majkel (45).
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#1158 Jerome45
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#1159 Lennart45
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#1160 Leonidas45
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#1161 Majkel45
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#1162 Man45