Girl · #256 in 2026

Leia

Leia is a variant of the Hebrew Leah, meaning languid in several languages, including Koine Greek and Portuguese. It is commonly used in reference to Leia Organa, a character from the Star Wars franchise who first appeared in the film Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). In the film, Leia is a princess from the fictional planet Alderaan. She marries Han Solo, and becomes the mother of Kylo Ren.

  • Biblical Greek
  • Portuguese
  • Popular Culture
Current Rank
#256
Peak Rank
#211 (2023)
Total Babies
20K
5-Yr Trend
+15%
1949
First Year
2026
Last Year
2023
Peak Year
#211
Peak Rank
20K
Total Count
71
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Leia

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Leia is a variant of the Hebrew Leah, meaning languid in several languages, including Koine Greek and Portuguese. It is commonly used in reference to Leia Organa, a character from the Star Wars franchise who first appeared in the film Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). In the film, Leia is a princess from the fictional planet Alderaan. She marries Han Solo, and becomes the mother of Kylo Ren.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Biblical Greek
  • Portuguese
  • Popular Culture

The Story of Leia

The earliest SSA record of Leia as a baby girl name dates back to 1949, when 7 babies received it. 2023 was its biggest year on record, with 1,424 newborns named Leia — #211 in the national rankings. About 41% of every Leia on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Leia ranks #256 for baby girls with 1,239 births, gradually rising (+15%). All told, over 20K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Leia

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Leia. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Notable people named Leia

A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.

  • Leia Dongue (born 1991), Mozambican basketball player
  • Léia Scheinvar (born 1954), Brazilian-Mexican botanist
  • Leia Stirling (born 1981), American academic, Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-director of the human systems laboratory
  • Leia Zhu (born 2006), British-Chinese classical violinist

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Names that sound like Leia

Phonetically similar names — useful when Leia is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Leia

What does the name Leia mean?
Leia is a variant of the Hebrew Leah, meaning languid in several languages, including Koine Greek and Portuguese. It is commonly used in reference to Leia Organa, a character from the Star Wars franchise who first appeared in the film Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). In the film, Leia is a princess from the fictional planet Alderaan. She marries Han Solo, and becomes the mother of Kylo Ren.
What is the origin of the name Leia?
Leia has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Biblical Greek, Portuguese, Popular Culture.
How popular is Leia in 2026?
In 2026, Leia ranks #256 among girls' names in the U.S., with 1,239 babies given the name that year.
When was Leia most popular?
Leia reached its peak popularity in 2023, ranking #211 that year with 1,424 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Leia most popular?
Leia has historically been most popular in Hawaii, New Mexico, Puerto Rico. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Leia.
Is Leia a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Leia is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Leia?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Leia include Patrice, Rowan, Haylee. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Leia?
Common variants and related forms of Leia include Lia. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

Similar Names

👧
Patrice
Peak #211
👧
Rowan
Peak #211
👧
Haylee
Peak #211
👧
Neva
Peak #212
👧
Guadalupe
Peak #210
👧
Jayne
Peak #212
👧
Savanna
Peak #210
👧
Antonella
Peak #212

About the name Leia

Leia is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1949 and has accumulated 20K births in the dataset. Leia's peak popularity came in 2023 when it ranked #211. Use the chart and map above to compare Leia's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.