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    The surname Leonard

    A German patronymic surname, carried by 91,475 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈlɛnɚd/ 2 syllables Soundex L563 Also a first name

    Leonard: #338 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Leonard #338, 91,475 people Leonard: #338 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Leonard #338, 91,475 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Leonard is more common than 99.8% of them.

    Origin

    German origin

    From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”). As a surname, also used as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).

    Leonard is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 91,475 people named Leonard in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,375 Americans. That is up 2.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 89,198.

    #338
    rank among US surnames
    91,475
    people in 2010
    31
    per 100,000 Americans
    +2.6%
    change since 2000 (was #308)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #329Lambert93,6783,296
    #330Miranda93,6283,298
    #331Byrd92,9043,323
    #332Craig92,5073,338
    #333Ayala92,4633,339
    #334Lowe92,2603,346
    #335Frazier92,1523,350

    Who is named Leonard

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    80% of people named Leonard identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 80%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 14%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 1.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Leonards

    33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Robert Sean Leonard
      American actor, born 1969
    • Elmore Leonard
      American novelist and screenwriter (1925–2013)
    • Sugar Ray Leonard
      American boxer, born 1956
    • Robert Z. Leonard
      American film director (1889-1968)
    • Patrick Leonard
      American musician, producer (born 1956)
    • Joshua Leonard
      American actor, born 1975
    • Marion Leonard
      American actress (1881–1956)
    • Sheldon Leonard
      American actor, producer, director, and writer (1907–1997)
    • Meyers Leonard
      American basketball player (born 1992)
    • Gloria Leonard
      American pornographic film actress; feminist publisher & activist (1940-2014)
    • Philippe Léonard
      Belgian footballer, born 1974
    • Benny Leonard
      American boxer (1896-1947)

    Notable Leonards come mostly from the United States (31) and Belgium (2).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Leonard

    Leonard has the Soundex code L563, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L563.

    Other German surnames

    All 1,101 German surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Leonard come from?
    From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”). As a surname, also used as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).
    How common is the surname Leonard?
    91,475 people in the United States had the surname Leonard in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,375 Americans. It ranked 338th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Leonard?
    In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Leonard identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Leonard?
    Robert Sean Leonard, American actor, followed by Elmore Leonard.
    Where is the surname Leonard most common?
    Wikidata records people named Leonard in the United States and Belgium.
    How do you pronounce Leonard?
    Leonard is /ˈlɛnɚd/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Leonard?
    Leonard is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Leonard getting more or less common?
    More common. 89,198 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 91,475 in 2010, up 2.6%.
    What are other spellings of Leonard?
    Larned.
    Is Leonard also a first name?
    Yes. Leonard is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.