Lev
A Slavic name meaning "lion", close kin to the Polish lew. Still rare enough that most Poles have never met one, though it's a recent arrival that's been gaining ground among boys.
Lev Pronunciation
What Lev means
Where Lev comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Lev is a Slavic name, and its meaning is direct: lion, in Polish lew. The variant Lew keeps that lion in a spelling a Polish eye reads without pausing. Russian, Ukrainian, and Jewish families have all claimed the name, each for reasons of their own.
The most famous bearer signed his novels Lev. Lev Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, went by Leo in English. At home the lion stayed. In Ukraine the name reaches back further than any writer. The city of Lviv takes its name from Prince Lev Danylovych, a thirteenth-century ruler of Halych, so millions cross a lion's territory every day without giving it a thought.
Among Jewish families Lev often sat beside the Yiddish Leyb, another word for the same animal.
Call a boy Lev today and you hand him one short syllable and one old beast: the lion, lew.
How many people are named Lev
1 in 8861 men in Poland is named Lev. 2,414 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #649 among male names.
Lev's popularity over time
51 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #350 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2012.
Where Lev is most popular
Lev is most popular in Lower Silesian, 99% above the national average (31 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+82%) and Pomeranian (+30%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Warmian-Masurian, 83% and 72% below average respectively.
-
Lower Silesian31 boys born+99%
-
Masovian64 boys born+82%
-
Pomeranian19 boys born+30%
-
Łódź16 boys born+28%
-
Lesser Poland26 boys born+16%
-
Lubusz5 boys born+2%
-
Silesian19 boys born−16%
-
Greater Poland17 boys born−20%
-
West Pomeranian5 boys born−40%
-
Kuyavian-Pomeranian6 boys born−45%
-
Opole2 boys born−56%
-
Warmian-Masurian2 boys born−72%
-
Subcarpathian2 boys born−83%
Lev as a middle name
Lev is a first name for 2,414 men in Poland and a middle name for another 43, a 98/2 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1206th, between Kristoffer (43) and Linus (43).
-
#1204 Jűrgen43
-
#1205 Kristoffer43
-
#1206 Lev43
-
#1207 Linus43
-
#1208 Lucian43