# Leighton (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/leighton/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “leek”, “settlement” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈleɪtən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Leyton |
| US babies named this | 21,823 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 9,411 / 12,412 (57% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,340, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Various place names in England, Old English leac (“leek”) + tun (“settlement”), also in the sense of a herb garden.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 549 | 527 |
| 2012 | 521 | 565 |
| 2013 | 546 | 545 |
| 2014 | 568 | 544 |
| 2015 | 680 | 475 |
| 2016 | 756 | 430 |
| 2017 | 668 | 468 |
| 2018 | 712 | 449 |
| 2019 | 752 | 420 |
| 2020 | 777 | 401 |
| 2021 | 825 | 379 |
| 2022 | 842 | 376 |
| 2023 | 853 | 357 |
| 2024 | 797 | 397 |
| 2025 | 892 | 342 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 218 | 923 |
| 2012 | 184 | 1,045 |
| 2013 | 184 | 1,045 |
| 2014 | 241 | 896 |
| 2015 | 261 | 866 |
| 2016 | 268 | 842 |
| 2017 | 238 | 903 |
| 2018 | 269 | 830 |
| 2019 | 366 | 692 |
| 2020 | 327 | 743 |
| 2021 | 281 | 848 |
| 2022 | 302 | 823 |
| 2023 | 232 | 968 |
| 2024 | 213 | 1,044 |
| 2025 | 207 | 1,057 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6 | 3,533 |
| 2011 | 6 | 3,549 |
| 2014 | 3 | 5,691 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,541 |
| 2020 | 3 | 5,493 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2025 | 6 | 3,705 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 295 | 188 |
| 2012 | 354 | 167 |
| 2013 | 394 | 150 |
| 2014 | 368 | 154 |
| 2015 | 287 | 201 |
| 2016 | 241 | 233 |
| 2017 | 210 | 258 |
| 2018 | 154 | 308 |
| 2019 | 134 | 338 |
| 2020 | 105 | 395 |
| 2021 | 102 | 416 |
| 2022 | 104 | 407 |
| 2023 | 78 | 504 |
| 2024 | 86 | 464 |
| 2025 | 72 | 539 |

## People named Leighton

- Leighton Baines, English association football player (born 1984)
- Leighton Meester, American actress and singer
- Leighton Clarkson, English association football player (born 2001)
- Leighton Lucas, British composer (1903-1982)
- Tony Scott, British film director and producer (1944–2012)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.