Boy · #296 in 2026

Leonel

Leonel is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Leonel Altobelli, Argentine footballer Leonel Álvarez, former Colombian football defensive midfielder Leonel Bastos or Lionel Bastos, singer, songwriter and music producer Leonel Beaudoin or Léonel Beaudoin (1924–2021), Canadian politician and insurance agent Leonel Brizola (1922–2004), Brazilian politician Leonel Campos, baseball…

  • Spanish
  • Portuguese
  • French
Current Rank
#296
Peak Rank
#296 (2026)
Total Babies
28K
5-Yr Trend
+18%
1993
First Year
1993
Last Year
1993
Peak Year
#13441
Peak Rank
5
Total Count
1
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Leonel

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

Leonel is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Leonel Altobelli, Argentine footballer Leonel Álvarez, former Colombian football defensive midfielder Leonel Bastos or Lionel Bastos, singer, songwriter and music producer Leonel Beaudoin or Léonel Beaudoin (1924–2021), Canadian politician and insurance agent Leonel Brizola (1922–2004), Brazilian politician Leonel Campos, baseball…

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

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Spanish
  • Portuguese
  • French

The Story of Leonel

Leonel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1910, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2026: 1,135 births, good for #296 nationwide. About 27% of every Leonel on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Leonel ranks #296 for baby boys with 1,135 births, rising sharply (+18% over the past five years). All told, over 28K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s 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 Leonel

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

Names that sound like Leonel

Phonetically similar names — useful when Leonel 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 Leonel

What does the name Leonel mean?
Leonel is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Leonel Altobelli, Argentine footballer Leonel Álvarez, former Colombian football defensive midfielder Leonel Bastos or Lionel Bastos, singer, songwriter and music producer Leonel Beaudoin or Léonel Beaudoin (1924–2021), Canadian politician and insurance agent Leonel Brizola (1922–2004), Brazilian politician Leonel Campos, baseball…
What is the origin of the name Leonel?
Leonel has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Spanish, Portuguese, French.
How popular is Leonel in 2026?
In 2026, Leonel ranks #296 among boys' names in the U.S., with 1,135 babies given the name that year.
When was Leonel most popular?
Leonel reached its peak popularity in 2026, ranking #296 that year with 1,135 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Leonel most popular?
Leonel has historically been most popular in Arizona, Nevada, Texas. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Leonel.
Is Leonel a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Leonel is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.
What names go well with Leonel?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Leonel include Quinton, Ed, Prince. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Leonel?
Common variants and related forms of Leonel include Leão, León, Leoncio. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

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About the name Leonel

Leonel is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1910 and has accumulated 28K births in the dataset. Leonel's peak popularity came in 2026 when it ranked #296. Use the chart and map above to compare Leonel'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.