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Leif

Leif: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“heir; descendant”
Origin
Old Norse
Say it
LAYF · 1 syllable
Used for
Boys

Leif comes from Old Norse Leifr, meaning 'heir' or 'descendant.' A famous bearer is the Norse explorer Leif Erikson.

Scandinavian namesNames meaning nobleClassic namesShort namesInternational names

How popular is Leif?

202475.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Leif in 2024250

2024 rank#925 boys

Peak year2022

Total US babies since 18809,742

Leif has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Leif

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Ericeternal ruler · Old Norse
  • Ronaldruler's counselor · Old Norse
  • Eriketernal ruler · Old Norse
  • Odinfrenzy, inspiration · Old Norse
  • Colbydark farm · Old Norse
  • DustinThor's stone · Old Norse
  • Gunnarwarrior · Old Norse
  • Ralphwolf counsel · Old Norse

Leif questions

What does the name Leif mean?

Leif means "heir; descendant". It comes from Old Norse. Leif comes from Old Norse Leifr, meaning 'heir' or 'descendant.' A famous bearer is the Norse explorer Leif Erikson.

Is Leif a boy or girl name?

Leif is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Leif?

250 US babies were named Leif in 2024. Its peak year was 2022.

How do you pronounce Leif?

Leif is usually pronounced LAYF.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.