Lionel
Top 1000
About Lionel
Lionel is one leonine name that hasn't taken off as cousins Leo and Leonardo have, though it did reenter the Top 1000 in 2010 after several years away; it was at its highest point in the 1920s and 1930s.
This French diminutive of Leon has had many worthy namesakes over time, including Sir Lionel, a Knight of the Round Table, actor Barrymore, critic Trilling, musicians Hampton and Richie, Argentine Olympic footballer Messi, and characters in numerous movies and TV shows such as gruff but loveable Lionel Hardcastle in the Judi Dench comedy As Time Goes By. Real life Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue was portrayed in The King's Speech.
Lionel Barrymore, of the famed theatrical family, was a mainstay of Golden Age Hollywood films, and kids might like the association to Lionel trains.
This is a timeless choice worth considering.
As of October 2026, Lionel ranked #659 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #295 in 1934, Nameberry popularity #462.
Editor's take: The name Lionel is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "young lion".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #663 | 388 | 202 |
| 2015 | #645 | 405 | 211.3 |
| 2016 | #583 | 475 | 250.3 |
| 2017 | #596 | 458 | 247.4 |
| 2018 | #634 | 418 | 230.2 |
| 2019 | #631 | 428 | 238.5 |
| 2020 | #661 | 398 | 230.6 |
| 2021 | #662 | 410 | 234.4 |
| 2022 | #626 | 448 | 256.6 |
| 2023 | #496 | 607 | 354.9 |
| 2024 | #561 | 528 | 306.5 |
| 2025 | #659 | 419 | 245.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lionel.
Famous Lionels
- Lionel Brockman Richie
American R&B singer,songwriter
- Lionel Leo Hampton
American jazz musician
- Lionel Dotson
American football player
- Lionel Andrés Messi (Cuccittini)
Argentine footballer
- Lionel Herbert Barrymore
American actor
- Lionel Jospin
Prime Minister of France
- Lionel Charles Hamilton Palairet
English cricketer
- Lionel Eugene Hollins
American basketball player
- Lionel Bart
British composer
- Lionel George Logue
Australian speech therapist who treated King George VI; portrayed in movie "The King's Speech"
- Lionel Edmund Rose
Australian boxer
- Lionel of Antwerp
1st Duke of Clarence, son of King Edward III of England
- Lionel Charles Jeffries
English actor
- Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus)
British actor and dancer
- Lionel Frost Bowen
6th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- Lionel Jay Stander
American actor
- Lionel James "L
Train" Simmons, American basketball player
- Lionel Thomas Taylor
American NFl football player
- Lionel Allen Sheldon
U.S. Congressman and governor of New Mexico Territory
Lionel in pop culture
- Sir Lionel
knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend
- Lionel Hutz
character on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Lionel Lockridge
character on American soap "Santa Barbara"
- Lionel Skeggins
character on New Zealand soap "Shortland Street"
- "The Story of Lionel and Arabella
" English fictional work of 1756
- Lionel Luthor
character on TV's "Smallville"
- Lionel Jefferson
character on TV's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
- Professor Lionel Stokesay
fictional archaeologist in "Anglo,Saxon Attitudes" (1956) by Angus Wilson
- Lionel Fusco
character on TV's "Person of Interest"
- Lionel Dresden
character in film "Because I Said So"
- Lionel Vickars
main character in G. A. Henty's "By England's Aid"
- Lionel Bishop
character in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom
- Lionel
lion character in Disney's "Dumbo's Circus"
- Lionel
brand of toy trains
- Lionel
Warhammer
- Lionel Acrux
character in the Zodiac Academy series
Variations & nicknames
- LyonellFrench
- LeonelloFrench
- LeonilaFrench
- LinnellioFrench
- LionelloFrench
- LionelluFrench
- LionnelFrench
- LyonellFrench
- LeonelSpanish