The story in the numbers

252,567 girls have been named Leah in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2009, with 6,790 births — 0.37% of all girls recorded that year.

It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 35 → 53).

Half of everyone given the name was born by 1998, and the 2010s alone account for 22%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 41 of them in the top 100.

Rank among girls, year by year

By decade

Decade

girls named Leah

809

1,671

1,747

4,253

4,453

3,539

3,495

5,960

12,742

21,146

36,057

34,100

45,429

56,030

21,136

In 2009, its biggest year

Leah was the 29th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 2009 were Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia and Ava. See all of 2009.

Names that rose and fell with Leah

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.