Leona

Girl · Latin

Leona

Say it: leh-OH-nah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Latin 'lioness', feminine of Leo.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1900s

In the United States

110,482 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1905, about 1 in 269 girls
628 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Mexican Spanish

The family of the name

Italian	Leona
English	Leona

Famous bearers

Leona Vicario, heroine of Mexican independence

Names worth a look

JuanaGirlFeminine of Juan, from Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'.Middle Ages · peak 1904

ManuelaGirlFeminine of Manuel, from Hebrew Immanuel 'God is with us'.Colonial · peak 1909

JosefaGirlSpanish feminine of José (Joseph), from Hebrew 'he will add'.Colonial · peak 1895 · forgotten

HortensiaGirlFeminine of Hortensius, probably from hortus 'garden'.Rome · peak 1928 · forgotten

GertrudisGirlFrom Germanic ger 'spear' and þrūþ 'strength'.Colonial · forgotten

MariaGirlFrom Hebrew Miryam, of uncertain meaning; many explanations ('bitter', 'beloved', an Egyptian root) have been…Early Medieval · peak 1966

LindaGirlProbably a short form of Germanic names ending in lind ('soft' or 'linden shield'), later associated with Spanish…Victorian · peak 1948

LeonardBoyFrom Germanic leon 'lion' and hard 'hard, brave'.Middle Ages · peak 1920

Where this comes from

Colonial records of the Americas
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.