First Name
32k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
9k
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
First
Last
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Lea
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Lea
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Leas Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Lea

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Lea mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Lea

User Submitted Meanings

  • A submission from Lebanon says the name Lea means "A big flower in the sea" and is of French origin.
Other origins: English and Indian (Sanskrit)

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Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Lea
A measure of yarn; for linen, 300 yards; for cotton, 120 yards; a lay.A set of warp threads carried by a loop of the heddle.

Etymology: Cf. Lay (n.)that which is laid), 4
noun Lea
A meadow or sward land; a grassy field.

Etymology: OE. ley lay, As. leáh leá; akin to Prov. G. lon bog, morass, grove, and perh. to L. lucus grove, E. light (n.)

Other Dictionary Sources
  1. A field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
    Synonyms: grazing land, ley, pasture, and pastureland
  2. A unit of length of thread or yarn
Wiktionary
  1. A female given name, latinized form of Leah.
  2. An English surname​, a variant of Lee.
  3. A river in London, also called the Lee.

Lea was also found in the following language(s): Danish, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, German, Hawaiian, Norwegian, Slovak, Spanish, and Swedish

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Notable Persons Named Lea

Lea Michele

Her ongoing career started in 1995. Lea was given the name Lea Michele Sarfati on August 29th, 1986 in The Bronx, New York, U.S.

Popularity:
Léa Seydoux

Léa Seydoux is an actress. Her most notable accomplishments were from 2005 to present. Léa was given the name Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne on July 1st, 1985 in Paris, France.

Popularity:
Lea Thompson

She has been prominent since 1982. Lea was given the name Lea Katherine Thompson on May 31st, 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.

Popularity:
Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga is a pop music, music of the philippines, contemporary r&b, and musical theatre singing and actor. She was most active from 1978 to present. Lea was given the name María Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga on February 22nd, 1971 in Manila. Lea is also known as Lea Salonga-Chien.

Popularity:
Lea DeLaria

Lea DeLaria is a comedian, actress, jazz musician, and jazz. Her most notable accomplishments were from 1993 to present. Lea was born on May 23rd, 1958 in Belleville, Illinois, U.S.

Popularity:
Lea Thompson filmography

Their ongoing career started in 1982.

Popularity:
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Notable Persons With the Last Name Lea

Nicholas Lea

Nicholas Lea is an actor. He was most active from 1989 to present. Nicholas was given the name Nicholas Christopher Herbert on June 22nd, 1962 in New Westminster.

Popularity:
Jim Lea

Jim Lea is a musician. He plays Gibson EB-3 and John Birch (luthier). He has been prominent since 1966. Jim was given the name James Whild Lea on June 14th, 1949 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.

Popularity:
Margaret Lea Houston

Margaret was given the name Margaret Moffette Lea on April 11th, 1819 in Marion, Alabama. She left this life on December 3rd, 1867.

Popularity:
Larry Lea

Larry Lea is a minister (christianity) and preacher. Larry was given the name Harold Lawrence Lea on January 30th, 1951 in Texas.

Popularity:
Princess Léa

Princess Léa is royalty. Princess was born on December 2nd, 1951 in Brussels, Belgium.

Popularity:
The Lord Herbert of Lea

The Lord Herbert of Lea was an office holder. The was born on September 16th, 1810. He left this life on August 2nd, 1861.

Popularity:
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How popular is the baby name Lea in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born
1880 7 7 0
1881 7 7 0
1882 6 6 0
1883 12 12 0
1884 15 15 0
1885 16 16 0
1886 7 7 0
1887 9 9 0
1888 17 17 0
1889 8 8 0
1890 18 13 5
1891 15 15 0
1892 14 14 0
1893 19 19 0
1894 32 27 5
1895 18 11 7
1896 23 23 0
1897 15 15 0
1898 30 30 0
1899 24 19 5
1900 37 29 8
1901 15 15 0
1902 25 25 0
1903 16 16 0
1904 15 15 0
1905 23 23 0
1906 24 24 0
1907 25 25 0
1908 35 35 0
1909 32 27 5
1910 23 23 0
1911 51 51 0
1912 50 45 5
1913 54 43 11
1914 62 56 6
1915 63 58 5
1916 94 80 14
1917 73 65 8
1918 112 93 19
1919 91 76 15
1920 74 62 12
1921 75 64 11
1922 93 82 11
1923 84 66 18
1924 74 61 13
1925 80 59 21
1926 88 67 21
1927 81 69 12
1928 82 73 9
1929 73 60 13
1930 87 76 11
1931 87 71 16
1932 61 53 8
1933 79 65 14
1934 81 70 11
1935 68 62 6
1936 68 59 9
1937 84 78 6
1938 72 72 0
1939 65 65 0
1940 83 77 6
1941 107 97 10
1942 105 96 9
1943 106 92 14
1944 83 83 0
1945 102 95 7
1946 129 122 7
1947 161 153 8
1948 158 153 5
1949 139 131 8
1950 158 149 9
1951 179 171 8
1952 219 210 9
1953 198 192 6
1954 243 243 0
1955 343 338 5
1956 391 382 9
1957 348 342 6
1958 455 446 9
1959 417 417 0
1960 379 374 5
1961 408 402 6
1962 425 419 6
1963 457 450 7
1964 415 403 12
1965 448 442 6
1966 465 465 0
1967 526 519 7
1968 497 491 6
1969 533 527 6
1970 600 593 7
1971 540 535 5
1972 445 445 0
1973 423 423 0
1974 459 449 10
1975 410 403 7
1976 349 349 0
1977 398 398 0
1978 393 386 7
1979 477 471 6
1980 464 464 0
1981 470 465 5
1982 391 384 7
1983 357 349 8
1984 409 404 5
1985 382 377 5
1986 345 345 0
1987 357 357 0
1988 408 401 7
1989 400 395 5
1990 466 466 0
1991 389 389 0
1992 357 357 0
1993 402 402 0
1994 378 378 0
1995 332 332 0
1996 408 408 0
1997 367 367 0
1998 365 365 0
1999 364 364 0
2000 367 367 0
2001 363 363 0
2002 382 382 0
2003 396 396 0
2004 445 445 0
2005 473 473 0
2006 481 481 0
2007 432 432 0
2008 479 479 0
2009 431 431 0
2010 513 513 0
2011 525 525 0
2012 470 470 0
2013 473 473 0
2014 415 415 0
2015 380 380 0
2016 420 420 0
2017 335 335 0
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Where is the name Lea popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of Lea as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Lea as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Hawaii, Oklahoma, or Massachusetts.

Popularity of Lea as a last name

The map shows the absolute popularity of the name Lea as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in North Carolina, California, or Louisiana.

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Common last names for Lea

  • Smith
  • Johnson
  • Brown
  • Martin
  • Jones
  • Clark
  • Miller
  • Hall
  • Thompson
  • Walker
  • Taylor

Common first names for Lea

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Lea U.S.
█  White 72.43% 64.26%
█  African American 16.38% 11.96%
█  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 4.65% 4.85%
█  American Indian and Alaska Native 0.93% 0.69%
█  Two or More Ethnicities 2.33% 1.76%
█  Hispanic or Latino 3.28% 16.26%

Of Last Name Lea

People with the last name Lea are most frequently White or African American

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Lea

  • How Popular is the name Lea? Lea is the 1,343rd most popular name of all time. As a last name Lea was the 3,863rd most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Lea have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 31,550 babies born with the first name Lea in the United States. That's more than enough people named Lea to occupy the territory of Gibraltar (United Kingdom) with an estimated population of 29,441 (as of July 1, 2010).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Lea? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 7 new born babies.
  • When was Lea first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Lea is Saturday, June 13th, 1868.
  • What year had the most people named Lea born? The highest recorded use of the first name Lea was in 1970 with a total of 593 babies.
  • Random Lea Factoid: According to the 1980 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Lea is not a popular baby girl's name in Minnesota. Imagine that, only 14 babies in Minnesota have the same name as you in 1980.
  • Weird things about the name Lea: Your name in reverse order is Ael. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Ela. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Lea? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 9,180 people with the last name Lea.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Lea? If you manage to meet 100,000 people in your life, chances are that 3 of them will have Lea as their last name.
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What Leas Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Lea

Name poster for Lea(click to save the high quality version)

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Most Popular Names

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • 1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary via the Collaborative International Dictionary of English (License)
  • Other Dictionary Sources: WordNet 3.1 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University (License).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.