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Lea as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Lea

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The baby name Lea is a Female name , 12 syllables long and is pronounced LEE (/liː/),LEE-ə (/ˈliːə/),LAY‑ah or LEH‑ah (French Léa /le.a/).

Lea is English, French, Hebrew in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 12.0
Origin: English, French, Hebrew
Pronunciation: LEE (/liː/),LEE-ə (/ˈliːə/),LAY‑ah or LEH‑ah (French Léa /le.a/)

What is the meaning of the name Lea ?

The baby name Lea is a Female name , 12 syllables long and is pronounced LEE (/liː/),LEE-ə (/ˈliːə/),LAY‑ah or LEH‑ah (French Léa /le.a/).

Lea is English, French, Hebrew in Origin.

Lea blends several roots. As a form of Hebrew Leah, it connects to the biblical matriarch, Jacob’s first wife and mother of six tribes of Israel. The Hebrew etymology is debated, often glossed as “weary” or “delicate,” sometimes linked to “wild cow,” but its scriptural stature secured use across Jewish and Christian communities. In French the accented Léa is standard, while Lea without accent appears in German, Swiss, Slovene, Croatian, and Scandinavian usage; English typically prefers Leah.

Across Europe Lea rose sharply in the late 20th century, topping charts in France as Léa and ranking highly in Germany and parts of Central and Northern Europe, while remaining familiar in Israel. An additional English etymology derives from Old English lēah, “meadow/clearing,” giving Lea the nature-name sense “meadow.” Variants and relatives include Leah, Léa, Lia, Leia, and spellings like Leya; compound forms (e.g., Lea-Sophie) also occur.

Lea has the following similar or variant Names

Celebrity babies named Lea

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Lea T Toninho Cerezo association footballer ★★★★★

Lea – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2025 #1 — 411
Austria Girls 2024 #9 398 60
Switzerland Girls 2024 #12 203 1,786
BF Girls 0 #15 3 315
KR Girls 0 #15 1 572
BW 0 #19 1 960
BI Girls 0 #31 3 726
NA 0 #31 3 2,537
EE 0 #32 6 1,051
MV Girls 0 #35 1 2,021
SI 0 #35 51 1,612
SI Girls 0 #35 227 2,769
ID 0 #38 2 2,238
MT 0 #43 1 1,767
Sweden Girls 2022 #46 212 1,568
HR Girls 0 #47 1,188 3,687
PH 0 #48 49 5,607
CM 0 #50 7 2,592
MO 0 #51 2 2,706
PH Girls 0 #59 547 13,098
LU 0 #60 7 2,830
Norway Girls 2025 #61 76 453
Canada Girls 2024 #68 346 2,795
AL 0 #71 6 2,372
AF 0 #76 1 1,883
Finland Girls 2026 #76 8,719 3,895
AO 0 #77 1 2,729
JP 0 #77 1 4,057
IL Girls 0 #79 1,663 11,648
EE Girls 0 #81 61 1,888
HR 0 #81 131 2,081
CN 0 #83 4 3,857
RS 0 #83 2 923
BN Girls 0 #87 20 5,459
QA 0 #88 13 7,011
Germany Girls 0 #91 4,573 4,949
KZ 0 #93 2 1,452
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
ID Girls 0 #99 4 3,319
TW 0 #100 4 4,523
DK Girls 0 #101 392 7,429
RS Girls 0 #106 30 1,651
GE Girls 0 #108 1 1,564
DK 0 #110 108 5,198
HU 0 #110 6 1,675
Finland Girls 0 #111 976 1,368
KW 0 #115 7 5,216
OM 0 #116 6 6,215
NA Girls 0 #119 112 7,146
CY Girls 0 #120 6 3,755
LU Girls 0 #123 65 4,850
LB 0 #127 1,328 13,263
Austria Girls 0 #133 570 1,885
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
GR 0 #134 2 3,911
CZ Girls 0 #135 347 5,378
ID Boys 0 #135 1 4,130
PA 0 #135 4 3,797
AL Girls 0 #136 91 4,141
MU 0 #137 1 3,613
BN Boys 0 #138 2 6,332
PS Girls 0 #138 748 10,981
PS 0 #138 81 5,692
MT Girls 0 #139 13 3,773
JO 0 #140 1 2,158
BW Girls 0 #144 8 4,216
IL 0 #146 144 6,291
AE 0 #150 28 10,220
Germany 0 #151 417 2,542
BW Boys 0 #152 3 4,685
QA Girls 0 #155 168 15,378
CZ 0 #158 28 3,154
CR 0 #162 4 5,526
PR Girls 0 #166 2 3,171
AR 0 #175 12 2,915
Austria 0 #177 37 850
UY 0 #177 6 2,477
MT Boys 0 #179 1 4,064
HU Girls 0 #189 35 3,308
RU 0 #190 5 3,641
KW Girls 0 #192 380 19,177
AO Girls 0 #196 14 4,575
Finland 0 #197 121 830
LT Girls 0 #199 2 1,904
MO Girls 0 #206 46 7,056
CM Girls 0 #207 477 11,671
IR 0 #208 22 4,221
SI Boys 0 #211 1 3,402
LU Boys 0 #218 3 4,970
GR Girls 0 #222 21 6,293
BG Girls 0 #224 8 3,559
MO Boys 0 #234 1 5,842
JP Girls 0 #236 10 6,592
BD 0 #241 1 5,992
IR Girls 0 #241 366 8,334
HR Boys 0 #244 15 3,997
PT 0 #244 7 4,161
AE Girls 0 #247 337 20,968
AO Boys 0 #248 2 5,568
GH 0 #248 1 5,396
SG 0 #252 18 11,010
TW Girls 0 #253 24 8,139
SA 0 #266 30 10,560
OM Girls 0 #273 124 15,987
JM Girls 0 #275 4 7,507
MU Girls 0 #277 75 8,539
AL Boys 0 #288 11 5,122
UY Boys 0 #297 109 5,922
CZ Boys 0 #304 2 6,530
JO Girls 0 #304 22 7,570
KZ Girls 0 #307 14 5,862
MY 0 #310 21 12,352
CN Girls 0 #317 33 8,829
IT Girls 0 #318 4,274 9,415
PE 0 #323 7 6,350
PL Girls 0 #323 32 5,096
AR Boys 0 #326 151 7,628
GT 0 #330 9 5,948
CN Boys 0 #331 1 9,639
GH Girls 0 #333 5 6,973
BR 0 #335 11 5,969
HK 0 #339 10 8,483
SG Girls 0 #339 263 18,916
France Girls 2021 #343 63 3,185
NL 0 #353 39 2,481
SD Girls 0 #356 3 7,678
MU Boys 0 #367 3 8,477
PT Boys 0 #381 1 7,951
SA Girls 0 #385 657 25,931
JO Boys 0 #389 1 7,057
IQ Girls 0 #393 112 11,303
YE 0 #394 5 8,639
PT Girls 0 #397 55 7,952
PH Boys 0 #402 7 11,440
BD Girls 0 #403 4 8,413
BO 0 #403 6 6,868
EG 0 #410 3 6,387
ZA 0 #418 30 14,421
Spain 0 #423 30 2,326
CL 0 #427 8 6,867
MX 0 #440 6 8,339
PA Girls 0 #440 42 9,861
RU Girls 0 #442 57 11,913
HK Girls 0 #449 169 16,104
BH 0 #460 94 17,937
PA Boys 0 #465 17 9,305
SD Boys 0 #466 1 10,523
CO 0 #471 10 7,768
GT Girls 0 #471 35 7,500
IT 0 #479 248 4,183
UY Girls 0 #481 30 6,731
CR Girls 0 #486 47 11,342
CM Boys 0 #493 58 12,054
NL Girls 0 #494 561 5,933
GT Boys 0 #499 1 7,625
RU Boys 0 #522 5 12,621
AR Girls 0 #531 69 8,289
PS Boys 0 #539 10 10,655
BO Girls 0 #551 61 9,488
HK Boys 0 #553 5 12,905
LY 0 #557 3 12,703
IR Boys 0 #565 1 10,162
IL Boys 0 #591 17 10,983
BD Boys 0 #603 3 10,045
United States Girls 2024 #604 324 8,487
BO Boys 0 #619 4 9,244
MY Girls 0 #631 386 24,821
SY 0 #634 95 11,684
IQ Boys 0 #635 33 13,071
CL Boys 0 #646 20 13,390
IN Girls 0 #652 3 13,121
BR Girls 0 #666 287 12,708
SG Boys 0 #688 10 17,960
ZA Girls 0 #694 531 25,928
PE Girls 0 #729 219 14,861
QA Boys 0 #738 6 18,093
BR Boys 0 #739 13 12,213
KW Boys 0 #750 20 18,755
CL Girls 0 #760 92 14,098
TN 0 #768 62 13,765
NG Girls 0 #769 18 15,093
Spain Girls 0 #784 201 5,561
DZ 0 #835 351 20,130
Spain Boys 0 #897 34 5,610
EG Girls 0 #904 56 14,742
CO Boys 0 #906 15 15,656
OM Boys 0 #915 4 17,948
EG Boys 0 #917 9 15,035
PE Boys 0 #918 9 14,506
Germany Boys 0 #932 21 5,697
MX Girls 0 #939 248 17,781
MA 0 #978 151 20,986
CO Girls 0 #990 89 16,140
NG Boys 0 #999 3 16,906
MX Boys 0 #1,025 9 16,355
IN Boys 0 #1,037 3 16,750
MY Boys 0 #1,081 31 25,439
AE Boys 0 #1,082 11 22,615
ZA Boys 0 #1,154 25 25,619
TR 0 #1,162 50 19,440
IT Boys 0 #1,406 66 10,046
SA Boys 0 #1,587 28 28,008

Lea is popular in 90 countries — most recent births per country:

Norway
Scotland, United Kingdom
Ireland
Canada
Germany

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People also ask about Lea

Lea is predominantly a girl's name.
Lea is a 12 syllable name, pronounced LEE (/liː/),LEE-ə (/ˈliːə/),LAY‑ah or LEH‑ah (French Léa /le.a/).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Leah, Léa, Lia, Leia and Lía.
Across languages, Lea has these equivalents: Leah (Hebrew), Léa (French), Lia (Italian/Spanish/Portuguese), Leia (variant/modern).
Yes, very popular — Lea ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 12 countries.
Lea ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Lea's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — at least 1 celebrity couple has chosen Lea for their child, including Toninho Cerezo.