Leonel
Below 5 births
2025 SSA
About Leonel
A variation of Lionel that has made slow but substantial gains in recent years, perhaps helped by the resurgence of Leo. It is also the Spanish and Portuguese variant.
Derived from Leon, Lionel emerged as a diminutive form of the strong, leonine name, softening if with the -el suffix, and giving it the meaning "young lion".
Leonel is now more popular than Lionel in the US, where it is nearing the Top 300, though recent years have seen Lionel catching up.
Leonel is also given to girls.
Pronounced lee-uh-NEL.
As of October 2026, Leonel ranked #14761 in US births in 1993 SSA.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #430 | 709 | 369.1 |
| 2015 | #389 | 821 | 428.3 |
| 2016 | #373 | 891 | 469.5 |
| 2017 | #365 | 903 | 487.9 |
| 2018 | #358 | 923 | 508.2 |
| 2019 | #346 | 972 | 541.7 |
| 2020 | #345 | 929 | 538.2 |
| 2021 | #375 | 867 | 495.6 |
| 2022 | #327 | 1,031 | 590.5 |
| 2023 | #308 | 1,074 | 627.9 |
| 2024 | #319 | 1,079 | 626.3 |
| 2025 | #350 | 942 | 551.5 |
World rankings
Leonel for boys
Similar names
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Leonel on lists
Famous Leonels
- Leonel Antonio FernándezBoy
50th and 52nd President of the Dominican Republic
- Leonel de Moura BrizolaBoy
Brazilian politician; 55th governor of Rio de Janeiro
- Leonel "Lio" Cunha GuerraBoy
Portuguese footballer
- (Leonel) Edmundo RiveroBoy
Argentine tango singer
- Leonel Eduardo PilipauskasBoy
Uruguayan footballer
- Leonel Antonio ParrisBoy
Panamanian footballer