# Lionel (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lionel/  
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 |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “lion” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlaɪənl/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 33,833 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 33,789 / 44 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 412, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A Middle English diminutive of French Léon, Latin Leo (“lion”), or of the Middle English nickname Lion + -el (diminutive suffix).

## What it means

Lionel is grouped under lion.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 5 | 5,552 |
| 1931 | 5 | 4,708 |
| 1958 | 5 | 6,609 |
| 1981 | 9 | 7,120 |
| 1983 | 5 | 11,230 |
| 1984 | 5 | 11,401 |
| 1985 | 5 | 11,689 |
| 1986 | 5 | 11,980 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 282 | 791 |
| 2012 | 275 | 809 |
| 2013 | 317 | 739 |
| 2014 | 388 | 663 |
| 2015 | 405 | 645 |
| 2016 | 475 | 583 |
| 2017 | 458 | 596 |
| 2018 | 418 | 634 |
| 2019 | 428 | 631 |
| 2020 | 398 | 662 |
| 2021 | 410 | 662 |
| 2022 | 450 | 622 |
| 2023 | 609 | 495 |
| 2024 | 529 | 562 |
| 2025 | 419 | 659 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | 2,194 |
| 2012 | 16 | 1,507 |
| 2013 | 18 | 1,339 |
| 2014 | 19 | 1,327 |
| 2015 | 27 | 1,046 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,570 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2,172 |
| 2018 | 24 | 1,132 |
| 2019 | 25 | 1,083 |
| 2020 | 24 | 1,111 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1,595 |
| 2022 | 18 | 1,420 |
| 2023 | 27 | 1,071 |
| 2024 | 38 | 847 |
| 2025 | 24 | 1,197 |

## In other languages

- French: Lionel
- Georgian: ლაიონელ
- Hindi: लायनल
- Italian: Lionello
- Portuguese: Leonel
- Romanian: Lionel
- Russian: Лионель

## People named Lionel

- Lionel Messi, Argentine association football player (born 1987)
- Lionel Richie, American singer, songwriter and actor
- Lionel Jospin, 93rd Prime Minister of France (1997–2002)
- Lionel Barrymore, American actor, director and screenwriter (1878–1954)
- Lionel Scaloni, Argentine football coach (born 1978)
- Lionel Hampton, American jazz musician (1908–2002)
- Lionel Robbins, Baron Robbins, British economist (1898–1984)
- Lionel Charbonnier, French football manager (born 1966)
- Lionel Logue, Australian speech and language pathologist; speech therapist (1880-1953)
- Lionel Stander, American actor in films, radio, theater and television (1908-1994)
- Lionel Kieseritzky, Baltic German chess player (1806-1853)
- Lionel Jeffries, English actor, screenwriter and film director (1926–2010)

## 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.