Thirty years of Leon
Leon in numbers
Leon peaked in 2010 with 1,204 boys and has fallen since, to 526 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 2010 and 2013, from 1,204 to 837. It ranked 105th in 1996, reached 60th in 2009 and ranks 101st now. On average it was given to 540 boys a year in the late 1990s, 893 in the 2000s, 831 in the 2010s and 573 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-3%545 to 526
- 5 years-15%620 to 526
- 10 years-34%795 to 526
- 20 years-42%914 to 526
- Since 1996+11%474 to 526
- Total, 1996 to 202522,834boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 101 · ONS · 545 in 2024
Rank 97 · NRS · 84 in 2024
Rank 185 · NISRA · 17 in 2024
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 101 | 526 | -3% | 1 in 572 |
| 2024 | 100 | 545 | -5% | 1 in 560 |
| 2023 | =91 | 573 | -2% | 1 in 529 |
| 2022 | 95 | 584 | -1% | 1 in 532 |
| 2021 | 101 | 590 | -5% | 1 in 543 |
| 2020 | =93 | 620 | -6% | 1 in 507 |
| 2019 | 93 | 662 | +1% | 1 in 497 |
| 2018 | 97 | 655 | -2% | 1 in 515 |
| 2017 | =98 | 669 | -9% | 1 in 520 |
| 2016 * | =92 | 737 | -7% | 1 in 483 |
| 2015 | 85 | 795 | +4% | 1 in 450 |
| 2014 | 85 | 765 | -9% | 1 in 466 |
| 2013 | 75 | 837 | -9% | 1 in 428 |
| 2012 | 72 | 918 | -14% | 1 in 408 |
| 2011 | 62 | 1,069 | -11% | 1 in 347 |
| 2010 | 60 | 1,204 | +4% | 1 in 308 |
| 2009 | 60 | 1,155 | +1% | 1 in 314 |
| 2008 | 62 | 1,138 | +25% | 1 in 319 |
| 2007 | 74 | 907 | +3% | 1 in 391 |
| 2006 | 76 | 884 | -3% | 1 in 387 |
| 2005 | 75 | 914 | +7% | 1 in 362 |
| 2004 | 76 | 856 | +4% | 1 in 384 |
| 2003 | 74 | 824 | +4% | 1 in 386 |
| 2002 | 73 | 790 | -1% | 1 in 387 |
| 2001 | 74 | 795 | +20% | 1 in 383 |
| 2000 | 80 | 662 | +11% | 1 in 468 |
| 1999 | =87 | 599 | +6% | 1 in 533 |
| 1998 | 96 | 564 | +8% | 1 in 578 |
| 1997 | 104 | 523 | +10% | 1 in 630 |
| 1996 | 105 | 474 | 1 in 704 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Leon
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Leon is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate