Leo - too overused?

I don't understand why posters are suggesting using Leo as a 'nn' for a longer name. It's a name in its own right. Leonard, 2 syllables, shortened to Leo, also 2 syllables. Why, other than to give him the choice of going by Leonard, Len or Lenny?

It's a nice name and not over popular where we live. I have two DC in primary and we don't know any Leos. We do know absolutely loads of Theos though, and one Leon.

Ha ha, so true about the Theos ! I have a Leo so it didn't put me off (couldn't think of another name we liked that suited him either)- havent been overwhelmed by other Leo's his age yet but there are sooo many Theos and they do sound a bit silly together 

Here you go. You can find out how popular the names in the top 20 per age of mother here: Baby Name Statistics

Some make interesting reading. E.g Archie is no. 2 for under 25 mums but 27th for the over 35s. Delilah is 9th for under 25 mums but 132nd for over 35 mums!

I know 2 boys called Leo and 3 dogs!

Oh really! That’s interesting, yes it might just depend on location! Defo seems like there aren’t tonnes of young mums in my area but it still seems popular. Still like the sound of Leo though

I have a Leo. I was worried he was going to be one of many but he is the only one in his year group (60) at primary school. I read that recently it is a far more common name for younger mums to pick (I’m not one!) so where you live may play a part in how many there are.

Although I agree that Aslan might get a few narnia references, I actually really love how it sounds and I wouldn’t let that put me off personally. I think it sounds lovely and is also a nodd to the Turkish heritage. However, don’t go for it if you aren’t keen!
personally for me, Leo is too overused. I’m a teacher and last year had 4 Leo’s in my class.

I think so - not so much just the Leos but plus the even more popular Theos it gets very boring.

If you love it, go for it. Leon is good too, if you wanted a longer name that you could shorten to Leo, Leonard might work, or Leander (albeit comes from the Greek for lion so maybe not right you might want more of a nod to your/partner's heritage). I don't know any Leo's personally (mostly Charlie's and a few Arlo's in my neck of the woods where there are multiple children in the school year with the same name). If you love it, use it. It'll be fine and you may end up not knowing any other Leo's. We've had "duplicate" names in a class but its not been a problem they just become Sam A and Sam B or whatever.

VERY popular. Very nice though.

Aslan is a beautiful name; I wouldn’t have thought of the potential nickname issue. Is it pronounced Azlan or Asslan?

Leo is a very nice name but it is very popular.

Aslan? Do you think you are in Narnia? I love that series, so I respect the dedication. However, Aslan is not good, personally I would go for Tumnus, after Mr Tumnus (the fawn from Narnia) I think personally this cute as you can shorten it to Tummy! xx

How about Leon instead?

I love the name Leo - I suppose it’s popular for a reason!

In 2022, Leo was the 5th most popular boys name, with one in 86 boys born being called Leo. That's too popular for me, but only you know your appetite for that kind of thing.

Conversely, I love Aslan. Mumsnet is weirdly conservative about these things - children are much more open-minded. But obviously if you hate it, don't use it.

I don't like Leon. Makes me think of Trotsky.

Leo is one of my absolute favourite boy names. If my son had been named it, he would have been one of three in his small nursery class. But in his school now, of over a 100 children, there are no Leos. It's popular yes, but your reasons for choosing it are very lovely, you should go for it.
You could choose a rarer name and then find that it suddenly rises in popularity.

I loooove the name Aslan! It was on my list but was never brave enough to use it as we don’t have any Turkish heritage.

But then again I like more unusual names (both dc names are not in the top 100) and Leo is in the top 10 so is quite popular.

if you hate Aslan then don’t use it, could you find another name if your worried about the popularity of Leo.
Anecdotally I do know a handful of Leo’s from newborn to 3, but you have to use the name every day so if it’s the only name you love then you should choose it.

Leon. An excellent boy's name.

For me, overused is when a name is so popular that any novelty is lost, and at some point it will fall out of favour.

I know Leos of different ages, which helps me not think of it as just a trendy name.

I think it’s rising in popularity, but my son has a top 5 name and is the only one with the name in his school - popular names aren’t as overused as they used to be. I like the suggestion of Leon if you did want something less commonly used? But I wouldn’t let potential popularity put you off your favourite name 😊