Nickname Spotlight: Getting to Gus

Leif

The name Leif peaked for girls at #11328 in 1981. Leif is also used for boys, ranking #917 in 2025.

The name Leif is a boy's name of Scandinavian origin meaning "heir, descendant".

Names that Peaked in 1979

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Scandinavian Names that Start With L

Leif is one of the most recognizable <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a>, thanks to Icelandic  explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf. 
<br/><br/>Leif Erikson, son of explorer Eric the Red, was the first European to land in North America--some five hundred years before Columbus.  Centuries later, the name became associated in the U.S. with 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett, the name peaking on the charts at Number 654 in 1970, dropping off completely in 1987.  It climbed back onto the Top 1000 in 2014.
<br/><br/>Pronounced LAYF or LIFE in its Scandinavian milieu, Leif and Lief are sometimes pronounced as Leaf in English-speaking countries. Joaquin Phoenix was for a time known as Leaf, in keeping with the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> of his siblings. 

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The name Leif is currently ranked #917 in U.S. births. and peaked for boys at #638 in 1979. The name is most popular in Montana, Alaska, and Alaska. Leif is occasionally used for girls in 1981.

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