Girl · Hebrew
Leah
Say it: LEE-uh
Meaning
Uncertain. Suggestions include Hebrew la'ah 'weary' and an Akkadian word for 'cow'; none is settled.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Used by Puritans and Jewish families for centuries, and much more widely since the 1970s.
Its wave through time
A revival, back after decades away
In the United States
- 236,249 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 2009, about 1 in 270 girls
- 4,491 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Lea, Leia
| French | Léa |
|---|---|
| German | Lea |
| Italian | Lea |
| Spanish | Lía |
| Portuguese | Lia |
| Polish | Leja |
| Hebrew | Leah |
Famous bearers
- Leah, first wife of Jacob in Genesis
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Puritan church and town records of England and New England
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.