Boy · Latin, through French
Lionel
Say it: LY-uh-nul
Meaning
A French diminutive of Léon, from Latin leo 'lion'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Taken from Arthurian romance into English noble use.
Its wave through time
Timeless: in steady use for over a century
In the United States
- 31,411 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1933, about 1 in 3,100 boys
- 394 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Lyonel
| French | Lionel |
|---|
Famous bearers
- Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The medieval Arthurian romances
- Royal and noble genealogies
- 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.