Leon
Given only to boys, Leon has climbed back into steady use: more newborns carry it now than in the quieter years of the early 2000s. The root is Latin leo, the lion, and Polish keeps the animal audible in it.
Leon Pronunciation
Leon is pronounced LE-on (/ˈlɛɔn/).
What Leon means
Where Leon comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Leon comes from Latin leo, leonis, the lion. The meaning sits right on the surface, which is rare. A Polish speaker hears it as lew, the animal on old city crests.
Popes carried it. Leon Wielki, Leo the Great, led the Church in the fifth century, and by one account he turned Attila back from Rome. The name came into Poland with the Church and settled as Leon.
There is a feminine variant, Leona, less common but built from the same root. On a school register Leon is easy to spot. It is short. The teacher reads it once and remembers the lion behind it.
Leon needs no decoration. The root is Latin leo, and the Polish ear keeps it as lew.
How many people are named Leon
1 in 334 men in Poland is named Leon. 63,966 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #160 among male names.
Leon's popularity over time
5,079 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #3 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2000.
Where Leon is most popular
Leon is most popular in West Pomeranian, 22% above the national average (1,636 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Greater Poland (+21%) and Lubusz (+16%). It is least common in Podlaskie and Lublin, 34% and 19% below average respectively.
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West Pomeranian1,636 boys born+22%
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Greater Poland4,129 boys born+21%
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Lubusz919 boys born+16%
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Pomeranian2,708 boys born+16%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian1,935 boys born+11%
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Opole799 boys born+9%
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Lower Silesian2,710 boys born+8%
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Silesian3,714 boys born+3%
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Łódź1,947 boys born−3%
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Lesser Poland3,385 boys born−6%
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Warmian-Masurian1,069 boys born−6%
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Subcarpathian1,710 boys born−11%
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Masovian4,965 boys born−12%
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Świętokrzyskie740 boys born−16%
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Lublin1,325 boys born−19%
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Podlaskie690 boys born−34%
Leon as a middle name
Leon is a first name for 63,966 men in Poland and a middle name for another 25,610, a 71/29 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 80th, between Bronisław (27,598) and Wacław (24,968).
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78
27,731Ireneusz
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79
27,598Bronisław
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8025,610Leon
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81
24,968Wacław
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82
24,574Bolesław
When Leon celebrates name day
Leon appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 20 February.