Leo

Additional information: Leo is commonly thought to have originated from the Latin word leo, (itself from the Greek Λέων) meaning “lion”. It is also the cognate of the name Leon, as well as a short form of the names Leonard and Leopold. Many important and distinctive people have held the name Leo, including a total of 13 Catholic popes to this date, 6 Byzantine emperors, and 5 Armenian kings. Because of the meaning “lion”, the name is usually associated with strength and power. It is also one of the signs of Zodiac.

Leo has neither alternative spellings nor variations, but there is a feminine name Leola that is considered to be the female version of Leo. The name itself is used as a short form in some cases for the given names Leonard, Leonardo, Leopold, and others.

The popularity of the name Leo has been high in most of the recorded history of the name usage. In 2014 it was ranked as the 2^nd most popular male name in Finland, the 4^th most popular in France, the 15^th most popular in Finland, the 16^th most popular in Spain as well as in England and Wales, the 11^th most popular in Galicia, and the 17^th most popular in Catalonia. It was also ranked in the top 100 most popular boy names in more than 15 countries around the world. 2014 marked the peak usage for this name with it reaching 2^nd most popular in Finland. In the US, the name was most popular in 1903 when it was ranked as the 37^th most popular male name.

Famous people and celebrities who share the name Leo include Leo Fender, an entrepreneur and guitar maker; Leo Howard, an actor; Leo Stronda, a rapper; Leo Taylor, a drummer; Leo Tolstoy, a Russian novelist (author of 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'); Leo Komarov, a hockey player; Leo Fitzpatrick, an actor; and Leo Sayer, a pop singer. Ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair used it for his son in 2000, a high profile birth which most likely helped boost its popularity in the UK (where it was the 33rd most popular boy's name in 2006).