Leonardo Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Boy Names Like Leonardo

Leonardo Name Origin: Italian
Pronunciation: lee-ah-nar-doh, lee-oh-nar-doh
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Leonardo Name Meaning

The Italian form of Leonard, Leonardo is bursting with elegance and romance, his sound reminiscent of art galleries, sprawling vineyards, and leisurely gondola rides. He’s packing some serious style points as well, transporting those around him straight to Milan Fashion Week.

With his in-demand -o ending and rich sound, it’s no surprise that he’s catching on in the States. He has a high-class air without a hint of pretentious, wearing well on a little boy and a man alike. While he’s no doubt grand, he can be dressed down as needed to feel more youthful with nicknames like Lee, Leo, and the spunky Nardo.

Leonardo is, of course, a classic, having tremendous ties to the halls of history with associations like Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo Bruni, and Leonardo Fibonacci. He also has more modern associations like Leonardo DiCaprio to give him some added cool points and wearability. Depending who you ask, he also appears as the coolest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you ask us, that’s a winning connection!

In a sea of trendy names, Leonardo sticks out as a handsome choice with mighty legs to stand on. He doesn’t need a unique spelling to stand apart. He’s got more than enough style to go around!

Leonardo Name Popularity

How popular is the name Leonardo? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	0	0%
1911	680	5	0.0013%
1912	888	6	0.0012%
1913	910	7	0.0012%
1914	801	17	0.0024%
1915	1,181	8	0.0009%
1916	997	13	0.0013%
1917	854	24	0.0024%
1918	869	26	0.0024%
1919	911	22	0.0021%
1920	823	31	0.0028%
1921	902	26	0.0023%
1922	857	30	0.0027%
1923	827	32	0.0029%
1924	803	36	0.0031%
1925	926	23	0.002%
1926	725	43	0.0039%
1927	778	36	0.0033%
1928	760	38	0.0036%
1929	680	48	0.0046%
1930	759	35	0.0034%
1931	886	22	0.0022%
1932	765	33	0.0033%
1933	772	28	0.003%
1934	704	38	0.0039%
1935	664	44	0.0045%
1936	962	15	0.0016%
1937	838	21	0.0021%
1938	837	23	0.0022%
1939	768	28	0.0028%
1940	848	23	0.0022%
1941	795	29	0.0026%
1942	838	25	0.002%
1943	778	34	0.0026%
1944	671	47	0.0038%
1945	676	45	0.0037%
1946	735	43	0.0029%
1947	806	38	0.0023%
1948	751	42	0.0026%
1949	771	44	0.0027%
1950	727	50	0.0031%
1951	754	48	0.0028%
1952	669	66	0.0038%
1953	717	59	0.0033%
1954	708	64	0.0035%
1955	762	51	0.0028%
1956	731	60	0.0032%
1957	750	58	0.003%
1958	745	60	0.0032%
1959	684	81	0.0043%
1960	769	57	0.003%
1961	623	116	0.0061%
1962	623	107	0.0058%
1963	667	93	0.0052%
1964	637	100	0.0057%
1965	660	84	0.0051%
1966	582	117	0.0075%
1967	593	115	0.0076%
1968	582	124	0.0083%
1969	591	127	0.0082%
1970	567	155	0.0097%
1971	542	173	0.0115%
1972	508	195	0.0143%
1973	521	177	0.0137%
1974	486	224	0.0172%
1975	482	231	0.018%
1976	510	201	0.0156%
1977	502	220	0.0163%
1978	522	197	0.0147%
1979	485	244	0.0173%
1980	435	314	0.0215%
1981	476	264	0.018%
1982	476	272	0.0182%
1983	504	228	0.0155%
1984	482	258	0.0173%
1985	503	256	0.0169%
1986	490	277	0.0184%
1987	500	274	0.018%
1988	481	321	0.0206%
1989	486	342	0.0212%
1990	418	510	0.0308%
1991	383	551	0.0338%
1992	381	561	0.0351%
1993	375	591	0.0379%
1994	377	583	0.038%
1995	405	528	0.035%
1996	401	548	0.0366%
1997	357	671	0.0454%
1998	259	1,129	0.0754%
1999	256	1,201	0.0802%
2000	253	1,296	0.0848%
2001	233	1,424	0.0945%
2002	232	1,433	0.0956%
2003	212	1,676	0.1102%
2004	196	1,942	0.1274%
2005	186	2,123	0.1389%
2006	184	2,168	0.1385%
2007	165	2,499	0.1584%
2008	170	2,323	0.1503%
2009	164	2,350	0.1572%
2010	150	2,603	0.1806%
2011	149	2,627	0.1844%
2012	153	2,659	0.1866%
2013	131	2,892	0.2031%
2014	115	3,422	0.2349%
2015	103	3,802	0.2613%
2016	95	4,307	0.2987%
2017	97	4,102	0.2939%
2018	92	4,185	0.3046%
2019	87	4,391	0.3244%
2020	86	4,021	0.3159%
2021	87	4,069	0.3329%
2022	75	4,328	0.3281%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Leonardo

If you like Leonardo, you’ll love these other names like Leonardo.

What names are diminutives of Leonardo?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Leonardo sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Leonardo, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Ardo	A variant form of Arden.
Lenn	Lion strength	German
Lennie	Lion strength	German
Lenno	Man	Native American
Lenny	Short form of Leonard	English
Leo	Lion	Latin
Leon	Lion	Greek
Nard	Strong bear	Dutch
Nardo	Strong, hardy	Italian

What names are variants of Leonardo?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Leonardo.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Lenard	Lion strength	German
Lennard	Lion strength	German
Leonard	Lion strength	German
Leonerd	Lion strength	German
Leonhard	Lion strength	German

What names sound like Leonardo?

If you like how Leonardo sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Leonardo.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Abelardo	Noble strength	German
Baiardo	Auburn-haired	French
Bajardo	Auburn-haired	French
Barnardo	Strong, brave bear	German
Bernardo	Strong, brave bear	German
Edgardo	Wealthy spear	English
Eduardo	Wealthy guard	Spanish
Gerardo	Spear brave	English
Leland	Plowed land	English
Leonidas	Lion strength	German
Leopold	Brave people	German
Renardo	Strong decision; fox	German
Reynardo	Strong decision; fox	German
Ricardo	Brave ruler	Spanish

What names are similar to Leonardo?

Find a name that’s like Leonardo, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Alejandro	Defender of man	Spanish

Antonio	Unknown meaning	Italian
Christopher	Bearing Christ	English
Damian	To tame	Greek
Emiliano	Rival	Italian
Emmanuel	God is with us	Hebrew
Giovanni	God is gracious	Italian
Maximus	Greatest	Latin
Santiago	Saint James	Spanish
Sebastian	Venerable or honorable	Greek

Lists With Leonardo

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Leonardo.

Siblings of Leonardo

Mamas with kids named Leonardo also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Ashton	Ash tree town	English
Bethany	House of figs	Hebrew
Melanie	Black	Greek
Matthew	Gift of God	Hebrew

Share Your Thoughts

14 Comments

Ruby Nov 29 at 2:50 am

I loved the teenage ninja turtles and of course Leo he was the one who stood out. Funny thing I named my kid after the turtle it was my favorite cartoon as a child.

Reply
Crystal+Hammons Jun 1 at 6:01 am

My husband and I really like the name but also the meaning, which is strong lion.

Reply
Henrietta May 1 at 10:57 am

My husband is a big fan of Resident Evil especially Leon S. Kennedy character. So he suggested to name him Leonardo but call him Leon instead. I like it.

Reply
Diana Sep 10 at 9:28 pm

We had a hard time finding the right name and Leonardo just stood out! We like how we can call him Leo and his horoscope is a Leo so it seemed to ge meant to be.

Reply
Danielle Sullo Apr 8 at 9:27 am

Great thinker and creative mind of all time. Italian Renaissance artist and scientist, history-maker

Reply
Anny Nov 14 at 6:42 pm

Leonardo: we choose this name with our own meaning. Leon in Spanish, Lion in English, is known as the king of the jungle , the jungle will be the thoughts, the mind, so if you know your mind, you know what you think, you are the king of your own mind and as a result you have a clear mind, now if you have a clear mind you have a pure heart. So for us Leonardo means: clear mind pure heart, (mente clara coraz?n puro). If you do what you do from your mind clear and you do what you do from your pure heart, what you think, what you say, what you do, comes from who you truly are, the human being who you truly are.

Reply
Salina Oct 15 at 11:07 am

His dad picked the name becouse of his relative. I love everything about his name

Reply
Cristiane Jul 16 at 5:10 pm

Strong name for a boy! 🙂

Reply
Jazmin May 26 at 11:37 am

To be honest, I was emotional and pregnant. I saw a video on tik tok of someone feeding big cats. The one I liked was a lion named Leo. What solidified it was that my favorite sibling is a Leo. So I just added -nardo for a bit of weight to the name.

Reply
Stephanie Oct 15 at 3:06 pm

My fiance was looking for an Italian name to stay true to his roots. For me, Leo was an old English name used multiple times in every older generation of my family, so it was an easy decision for us.
We also like being able to call him Leon as he approaches school age if Leo seems too old fashioned (my fiance is also a gamer nerd so the reference to Resident Evil might play well for others!)

Reply
Leonardo Jul 13 at 1:45 pm

My baby is named after his father. When I hear the name Leonardo it gives me a feeling of elegance, handsome strong sense

Reply
Emily Mar 26 at 3:14 pm

My husband and I don’t love the idea of our son sharing a name with 10 of his friends his age but don’t want something that nobody will ever be able to spell or pronounce, and this was one of the few named we both liked.

Reply
Laura Feb 20 at 1:59 am

Love name have different pronunciation and my daughter choose it

Reply
Karen Sep 14 at 6:24 pm

We picked the name Leonardo with the intention of using the shortened version Leo. I was always a huge fan of Leonardo Di Caprio and I loved that the name isn’t too common and is of European origin which my husband and I both are as well.

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