# Napoleon (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/napoleon/  
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 | Italian |
| Meaning | “naples”, “lion” |
| Pronunciation | /nəˈpəʊ.li.ən/, 4 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 7,810 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 7,805 / 5 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From French Napoléon, from Italian Napoleone, name of an early saint, of uncertain origin; possibly from the Germanic clan name Nibelung. By folk etymology explained as Napoli (“Naples”) + leone (“lion”).

## What it means

Napoleon 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 5 | 5,380 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 4,777 |
| 2012 | 19 | 4,982 |
| 2013 | 38 | 2,983 |
| 2014 | 17 | 5,410 |
| 2015 | 18 | 5,211 |
| 2016 | 13 | 6,604 |
| 2017 | 15 | 5,979 |
| 2018 | 26 | 4,074 |
| 2019 | 15 | 6,019 |
| 2020 | 12 | 6,908 |
| 2021 | 14 | 6,240 |
| 2022 | 10 | 8,129 |
| 2023 | 13 | 6,784 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7,127 |
| 2025 | 22 | 4,651 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Napoleó
- Chinese: 拿破侖 /拿破仑
- Czech: Napoleon
- French: Napoléon
- Hungarian: Napóleon
- Italian: Napoleone
- Latin: Neāpoliō
- Polish: Napoleon
- Portuguese: Napoleão
- Romanian: Napoleon
- Russian: Наполео́н
- Vietnamese: Nã Phá Luân, Napôlêông

## People named Napoleon

- Napoleon, French military leader, French Emperor 1804–1814 and again in 1815 (1769–1821)
- Napoléon, Prince Imperial, French prince (1856–1879)
- Napoleon Chagnon, American anthropologist (1938–2019)
- Napoleon Sarony, American artist (1821-1896)
- Napoléon Henri Reber, French composer (1807-1880)
- Napoleon Murphy Brock, American singer, saxophonist and flautist
- Napoléon Coste, French composer (1805–1883)
- Napoleon B. Broward, American politician (1857-1910)
- Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic, French painter and engraver (1839-1889)
- François-Napoléon-Marie Moigno, French cleric-scientist (1804-1884)
- Napoleon M. Kheil, Czech entomologist (1849-1923)
- Napoléon Peyrat, French author and historian from Les Bordes-sur-Arize

## 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.