Lee
Top 1000
About Lee
A name that has a bit of a shouldn't-I-be-a-middle-name sound, though still in use as a first for both genders. Lee might be a good choice if you want something that sounds at once traditional yet modern, unisex but not newly-minted.
And while it absolutely works as a first name, Lee is still one of the top middle names for boys as well as one of the most common last names in the US.
Pronounced LEE.
As of October 2026, Lee ranked #727 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #39 in 1900, Nameberry popularity #415.
Editor's take: The name Lee is a boy's name of English origin meaning "pasture, meadow".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #703 | 349 | 181.7 |
| 2015 | #678 | 375 | 195.6 |
| 2016 | #664 | 390 | 205.5 |
| 2017 | #681 | 369 | 199.4 |
| 2018 | #689 | 352 | 193.8 |
| 2019 | #783 | 297 | 165.5 |
| 2020 | #769 | 313 | 181.3 |
| 2021 | #700 | 377 | 215.5 |
| 2022 | #699 | 377 | 215.9 |
| 2023 | #706 | 376 | 219.8 |
| 2024 | #714 | 370 | 214.8 |
| 2025 | #727 | 366 | 214.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Lee on lists
Famous Lees
- Lee Marvin
American actor
- Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary)
American actor
- Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby)
American character actor
- Kenneth Mobley "Lee" Brice
American country music singer
- (Melvin) Lee Greenwood
American country music singer
- Lee Grinner Pace
American actor
- Leon James "Lee" DeWyze
American singer,songwriter
- Lee Patrick Strobel
American Christian author
- Lee Roy Parnell
American country music singer
- Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry)
Jamaican music producer
- Lee Michael Norris
American actor
- Lee Michael Zeldin
US Congressman from New York
- Clarence Leroy "Lee" Van Cleef
American actor
- (Warren) Lee Tamahori
New Zealand film director
- Lee Ryan
English singer,songwriter of boy band Blue
- Lee Mack
stage name of Lee Gordon McKillop, English comedian
- Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca
American CEO of Ford Motor Co.
- Lee John Westwood
English golfer
- Lee Buck Trevino
American golfer
- Lee Mark Ranaldo
American guitarist of band Sonic Youth
- Lee Allen Tergesen
American actor
- Lee Edward Unkrich
American film director
- Lee Anthony Brennan
American lead singer of band 911
- Lee Craig Frecklington
British professional footballer
- Lee Hinchcliffe
British Social Media Star
- Robert E. Lee
U.S. Confederate General
- Stan Lee
creator of Marvel Comics
- Amos Lee
American singer
- Jason Lee
American actor
- Bruce and Brandon Lee
Chinese,American actors and martial artists
- Richard Henry Lee
former president of the Continental Congress and statesman from Virginia who called for the colonies independence
- Lee Darren Boxell (b. 1973)
15 year old British boy who went and still is currently missing from Sutton/Croydon area of London in 1988
Lee in pop culture
- Lee McDermott
character on TV's "Desperate Housewives"
- Lee Scoresby
character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy
- Lee Brackett
character in film "Halloween"
- Lee
character on TV's "Not Going Out," played by Lee Mack
- Lee Fletcher
character in 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' book series
- Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama
character on TV's Battlestar Galactic
- Lee Ping
main character on TV's Detentionaire
- Dr Lee Rosen
main character on TV series "Alphas"
- Lee Everett
main character in The Walking Dead video game.
- Lee Jordan
Fred and George Weasley's best friend in the "Harry Potter" series
- Old Bull Lee
character in "On the Road"
- Lee Morgan
character in Paul Shapera's musical "The New Albion Guide to Analogue Consciousness"
- Lee
brand of jeans
- Richard Henry Lee
character in "1776" the musical and movie
- Lee Stetson
character on 1980's TV show "Scarecrow & Mrs. King"
- Lee "Pinata" Heere
Character from the webcomic "Sparklecare Hospital"