Leo for baby boy?

For a period in time, until it starts to sound dated.

My DD is 9 months old and Leo is definitely the most popular boys’ name we have come across in classes etc- there were 3 in my Baby Sensory class for example (SE based). However, it’s a lovely name so popular for a reason, and as PPs have said, these things are always a bit of a lottery anyway, so I wouldn’t necessarily let that put you off OP! 🙂

The first one is an opinion. You can disagree with it, but that neither makes it 'true' nor 'untrue'. There are many popular names I like, and many I don't. For the ones I don't, clearly many people do think them 'lovely' to have chosen them. It's a highly subjective term. No statement of "that's a lovely name" can be true or untrue, as it's just someone's opinion. If it's a popular name, the opinion that it's 'lovely' is obviously a popular opinion, currently, whether we personally agree with it or not.

I agree there could be huge pockets of children with a certain name in some areas and hardly any in another but, nationally, popularity is diluted massively compared to what it was. That is true, it's reflected in the stats. What I then said, based on that, was there's every chance their Leo could be the only one in the class ('could', I didn't say he would or wouldn't be, I was just speaking generally based on the fact there are far less boys called Leo born now compared to boys called Jack in the 90s). That can be neither true nor untrue, as it's just hypothetical. We have no idea where OP lives and whether there will be lots of Leos or not (or whether they'll even use the name!).

I agree with the point you are making, I just found your "that's not really true" response to me odd, as I wasn't presenting the potential situation I was outlining as 'true', just what may or may not happen 🤷🏻‍♀️

Love it, don’t worry about popularity. Number 3 is still only about 1 in 100 baby boys given that name. It’s a really handsome name.

Nice name but very popular. If you are ok with that, then go with it.

@BoleynMemories13 , I'm disagreeing with popularity showing that the name is lovely.
It shows that many parents like it but not that the name is lovely.
The name wasn't popular 30 years ago but that doesn't mean it wasn't lovely then.

I think you need to consider that you like Leo and there will be a few around but also how common Theo and Louis are too and whether you like these names enough for your son to be mixed up with them. It’s sort of the El- trend with girls names.

I've never met a Leo and I really like it.

Agree. I only know two, one a six year old and the other mid twenties.

Loads here, short for Leonidas?

I like it a lot and it translates across languages and it’s easy to spell

I meet quite a few children across my job and I haven’t come across that many

If lots of people are currently using it, clearly lots of people currently think it's lovely (you're entitled to disagree with them, but they wouldn't use it if they didn't). It wasn't as universally loved back in the day. That doesn't mean some people didn't also find it lovely back then too. I'm not sure what on Earth there is to agree or disagree about that but whatever, we'll clearly have to agree to disagree on this one...

@BoleynMemories13 , because your logic is flawed.

It was a random comment made to someone considering the name, who I felt needed to hear positive things. It's really not that deep!

Maybe you would have been more satisfied if I'd said "If there are lots of other Leos when he gets to school, that just shows what a how many people think it's a lovely name it is", if you're going to be so pedantic about a few omitted words. The meaning was pretty obvious, either way.

@BoleynMemories13Your logic is flawed.
Just because a name is currently fashionable does not mean it is ‘lovely’
Names that were very fashionable and popular in the past like Sharon & Gary are not objectively ‘lovely’, are they?

Well someone clearly thought they were at the time, to use them! Again, lovely is a very subjective term. I'd love to know what names are apparently 'objectively lovely', as I can guarantee someone else will come along and say no they're not. It's an opinion people hold on a name, not a fact to be proved true or untrue. As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as an objectively lovely name. I'm sure we're actually trying to make the same point here, you're just being pedantic about the wording in my original comment, where I accidentally omitted the word 'think' and you literally thought I was saying Leo is a lovely name because lots of other people are using it.

Did you not even bother to read what I wrote in my last post?

Maybe you would have been more satisfied if I'd said "If there are lots of other Leos when he gets to school, that just shows what a how many people think it's a lovely name it is", if you're going to be so pedantic about a few omitted words.

Blimey, I made one throw away comment to reassure the original poster their name choice is lovely (it is, in my opinion!). I get told it's not true, when I wasn't even presenting a fact. I explain my point again, adding in a few extra words to emphasise that it being popular means lots of other people currently think it's lovely, and I still get lynched for apparently speaking untuths and having flawed logic. MN can be a very strange place at times.

Basically, some people strive to choose a practically unheard of name, whereas others are more drawn to the current trends. One appeal, of choosing a currently popular name, is that there will be lots of other people out there who approve of that decision as they too have chosen the same name. They clearly 'love' the name, making it feel 'lovely' to them. Lovely is an incredibly subjective term, and you'll never find a name that is universally loved, but if you are looking for a name that is currently well liked the best place to look is the current top 100/50/20/10 etc. Everyone looks for different things in a name but, in my opinion (yes, opinion, I'm not trying to present facts!), one of the things which make the current top names so appealing to many is the knowledge that lots of other people currently like them too.

I can't explain myself in any more different ways. If you're still unable to understand the point I'm making, that's a you problem. You don't have to agree with my point, but that doesn't make me wrong. People are allowed to have different opinions...

i disagree with you on your point.. "one of the things which make the current top names so appealing to many is the knowledge that lots of other people currently like them too" - erghh no! - it's more of the fact it's seen as a trend to use that name hence why it's popular in the first place! just because ALOT of people have chosen to name their baby Leo, doesn't make it sound or look any more appealing than the name of my own son Lenny??!!.. what about the influence a celebrity has? what about culture? - these are only a slight few examples as to why a baby name can become popular and make it in a top 100 list or top 10.. take the baby boy's name Muhammad for example - that isn't the top baby boy's name in england and wales because of the fact it is an appealing name or lovely is it!? more to do with the fact of someone's culture and religious tradition 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄

I agree with you on Muhammad, it's purely culture and traditional that sees it out on top (likely forever now) - although I'm sure plenty of people do find it 'lovely' too.

You can disagree with me all you like, doesn't mean I'm not making a valid point for why SOME PEOPLE are drawn to popular names, when making their choice. Some people like to 'fit in'. They want their children to 'fit in'. Therefore they choose a name they know is likely to receive approval from many. It's definitely not the only reason they might choose a popular name, but it can be one of them.

I don't disagree with any of your points about why you think names get popular or why some people choose a popular name. Current trends, celebrity culture and media influence etc impact the name charts massively. I have never said they don't. I said that knowing they are currently liked by so many people is ONE OF THE REASONS why the top names appeal to some people. Not the only reason, not even the number one reason, just one reason. And I only said that to explain my original point in the first place, that lots of people must currently think the name is lovely if so many are choosing it.

And I'm sorry, nothing personal against your son's name but clearly Leo is currently more appealing than Lenny to many people, otherwise they'd be calling their own kid Lenny rather than Leo. That's a no brainer. The stats speak for themselves.

Wow, this is what banging your head against a brick wall feels like. Remind me never to describe a name as lovely again on MN, without first being willing to have to justify that statement to death. Jesus 🤦‍♀️

Just wait until baby arrives, have a shortlist, if he looks like a Leo, then he’s your Leo.

Both my kids have less common names, I wanted that for them. If that’s not important to you, then go for Leo. I would agree that it’s a lovely name, I think it has a softness to it.

I think Sharon is a great example of a lovely sounding name that you just couldn't really use anymore!

Parents for sure choose names based on their preferences and opinions, but the potential pool of lovely names is dictated by current trends.

For example say I really like the names Susan, Sharon and Athena. I think all are lovely names. In the 1930s I'd have chosen Susan - any other choice would be bizarre. In the 1970s I'd have chosen Sharon no question. Athena would have been an outlandish choice back then and Susan dated. In 2026 i would choose Athena without a doubt. No-one would blink an eyelid at an Athena, but would find Sharon a strange, dated choice and Susan a granny name/not due a comeback just yet. So although all the names to me are lovely, I'm choosing based on naming trends as well as personal preference.

again, i disagree on your opinion of the fact Leo is a more appealing name than Lenny! Maybe it's a case of the fact that not many people hear of the name Lenny as it is classed as an-usual/un-popular name in the first place 😁 which is the main reason why i like those type of names you don't hear of being used by every Mary, Jane or Sue 😂 but will highlight something for you, - my son was born in November 2025, and of that year, Lenny made it into the top 100 list for baby boy names! & infact it's popularity is starting to rise! So stop being so prejudice with your comments as that was unfair of you to say! this is for you with your "no brainer" comments..🖕🏻

Love it!

Prejudice?! Oh behave! Do you even know what the word means?! Clearly not, to have used it so out of context.

I'm merely pointing out a simple fact, Leo appealed to more people than Lenny last year because more people used it. What on Earth is unfair about saying that?! YOU bought your own child's name into it. I made it clear it was 'nothing personal against your child's name'. I'm literally just stating a fact that there are more babies called Leo than Lenny, currently. I don't know where you live, but Lenny was 141st in England and Wales in 2025, so not top 100 yet. I DO actually hear it around me. So maybe not as unusual as you were hoping for then? Sorry

I don't have anything against the name Lenny, nor have I said anything against less popular names in general (other than stating the obvious, that they don't appeal to as many people, currently, as the top names because less people choose to use them) so please don't turn my comments into something they are not. Some of us don't need to use rude emojis to make their point.

Wow, this is what banging your head against a brick wall feels like. Remind me never to describe a name as lovely again on MN, without first being willing to have to justify that statement to death. Jesus 🤦‍♀️

You seem unable to accept that we're not challenging your opinion of the name Leo, what we're saying is the name is popular because it is popular and that it's popularity doesn't mean it's lovely.

When people look for a name for their baby, they will probably be looking at the names that are currently popular, so won't be looking at some names because they won't be what they have in mind as a 'baby name'. It's fashion.

OMG, how many times can you miss the bit where I added in the word think? Lots of people THINK it is lovely if they are using it in their droves. I can't clarify your misunderstanding of my original post any more than I already have.

I totally understand the bit you are challenging! It's ok for you not to AGREE with me, that doesn't make my comment untrue. It's simply a difference of opinion. If you'd bothered to read what I'm saying, I don't disagree with your opinions for why people choose popular names. They are ALL potential factors (because that's all any theory is, potential).

BANG BANG BANG

I can't do this anymore, it's painful how blinded some people can be to their own viewpoint being 'right', that they simply can't accept a different potential viewpoint. Enjoy the rest of your day.