Lionel
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
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.
Lionel for boys#659 US
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.
Lionel for girls
Lionel is yet another traditional boy's name entering the girls' column--at least once-- via prizewinning novelist Lionel (born Margaret Ann) Shriver.
Pronounced LY-uh-nul.
As of October 2026, Lionel ranked #659 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #295 in 1934, Nameberry popularity #489.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #663 | 388 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #645 | 405 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #583 | 475 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #596 | 458 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #634 | 418 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #631 | 428 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #661 | 398 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #662 | 410 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #626 | 448 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #496 | 607 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #561 | 528 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #659 | 419 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Lionel for boys
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lionel.
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Lionel on lists
Famous Lionels
- Lionel Brockman RichieBoy
American R&B singer,songwriter
- Lionel Leo HamptonBoy
American jazz musician
- Lionel DotsonBoy
American football player
- Lionel Andrés Messi (Cuccittini)Boy
Argentine footballer
- Lionel Herbert BarrymoreBoy
American actor
- Lionel JospinBoy
Prime Minister of France
- Lionel Charles Hamilton PalairetBoy
English cricketer
- Lionel Eugene HollinsBoy
American basketball player
- Lionel BartBoy
British composer
- Lionel George LogueBoy
Australian speech therapist who treated King George VI; portrayed in movie "The King's Speech"
- Lionel Edmund RoseBoy
Australian boxer
- Lionel of AntwerpBoy
1st Duke of Clarence, son of King Edward III of England
- Lionel Charles JeffriesBoy
English actor
- Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus)Boy
British actor and dancer
- Lionel Frost BowenBoy
6th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- Lionel Jay StanderBoy
American actor
- Lionel James "LBoy
Train" Simmons, American basketball player
- Lionel Thomas TaylorBoy
American NFl football player
- Lionel Allen SheldonBoy
U.S. Congressman and governor of New Mexico Territory
- Lionel ShriverGirl
author
Lionel in pop culture
- Sir LionelBoy
knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend
- Lionel HutzBoy
character on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Lionel LockridgeBoy
character on American soap "Santa Barbara"
- Lionel SkegginsBoy
character on New Zealand soap "Shortland Street"
- "The Story of Lionel and ArabellaBoy
" English fictional work of 1756
- Lionel LuthorBoy
character on TV's "Smallville"
- Lionel JeffersonBoy
character on TV's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
- Professor Lionel StokesayBoy
fictional archaeologist in "Anglo,Saxon Attitudes" (1956) by Angus Wilson
- Lionel FuscoBoy
character on TV's "Person of Interest"
- Lionel DresdenBoy
character in film "Because I Said So"
- Lionel VickarsBoy
main character in G. A. Henty's "By England's Aid"
- Lionel BishopBoy
character in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom
- LionelBoy
lion character in Disney's "Dumbo's Circus"
- LionelBoy
brand of toy trains
- LionelBoy
Warhammer
- Lionel AcruxBoy
character in the Zodiac Academy series
- Lionel DavenportGirl
Hit the Floor character