Leigh
Leigh is both an English surname and a unisex given name meaning "meadow" and "delicate".
- English
Meaning & Origin of Leigh
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Leigh is both an English surname and a unisex given name meaning "meadow" and "delicate".
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Leigh
As a girl name
Leigh first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1912, with 9 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1969: 1,563 births, good for #201 nationwide. About 28% of every Leigh on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Leigh ranks #3,344 for girls with 47 births, holding steady (-5%). All told, over 40K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Leigh on the record books as a boy name in 1882, with 5 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1955, when 126 Leighs were born — ranking #654 that year. Leigh last appeared in the published SSA data in 2023, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 5K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Leigh
Phonetically similar names — useful when Leigh 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 Leigh
What does the name Leigh mean?
What is the origin of the name Leigh?
How popular is Leigh in 2026?
When was Leigh most popular?
In which U.S. states is Leigh most popular?
Is Leigh a unisex name?
What names go well with Leigh?
About the name Leigh
Leigh is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1912 and has accumulated 40K births in the dataset. Leigh's peak popularity came in 1969 when it ranked #201. Use the chart and map above to compare Leigh's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1969 →
- Names of the 1960s →
- Names starting with "L" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
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.