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Leah as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Leah

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The baby name Leah is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced LEE-ə (IPA: /ˈliːə/).

Leah is Hebrew in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: LEE-ə (IPA: /ˈliːə/)

What is the meaning of the name Leah ?

The baby name Leah is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced LEE-ə (IPA: /ˈliːə/).

Leah is Hebrew in Origin.

Leah derives from the Hebrew Le’ah (לֵאָה), often interpreted as “weary,” from the root la’ah, though some scholars connect it to a Northwest Semitic/Akkadian term meaning “wild cow,” suggesting vigor or fertility. In the Hebrew Bible, Leah is Jacob’s first wife and ancestress of several tribes of Israel, including Judah and Levi, giving the name deep religious resonance in Jewish and Christian traditions.

Through the Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint, Leah entered European name stocks, persisting among Jewish communities and seeing renewed English use with the Puritans and again in the 19th–20th centuries. Contemporary popularity rose in the late 20th century in the United States and Europe. International variants include Lea (German, Scandinavian), Léa (French), Lia (Italian, Portuguese, Romanian), Leia and Leja (Slavic and modern forms), and Lía or Lia in Spanish contexts; related spellings such as Liah and Leya also occur.

Leah has the following similar or variant Names

Celebrity babies named Leah

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Leah Wood Jo Wood model ★★★★★ Ronnie Wood singer ★★★★★
Leah Dou Faye Wong singer ★★★★★ Dou Wei singer ★★★★★

Leah – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
FJ Girls 0 #7 3 583
Norway Girls 2025 #10 279 453
BW 0 #19 1 960
MV 0 #19 1 644
Sweden Girls 2022 #23 346 1,568
BN 0 #30 3 2,297
MV Girls 0 #35 1 2,021
MT 0 #40 4 1,767
GE 0 #44 1 997
PH 0 #46 51 5,607
New Zealand Girls 2010 #50 64 98
MO 0 #52 1 2,706
United States Girls 2024 #53 3,969 8,487
CM 0 #56 1 2,592
CY 0 #59 2 1,632
LU 0 #66 1 2,830
JP 0 #75 3 4,057
PH Girls 0 #75 487 13,098
Canada Girls 2024 #79 286 2,795
CN 0 #83 4 3,857
MD Girls 0 #91 2 865
JM 0 #93 1 3,714
BW Girls 0 #99 50 4,216
TW 0 #99 5 4,523
QA 0 #101 6 7,011
BN Girls 0 #106 9 5,459
KW 0 #116 6 5,216
CY Girls 0 #118 8 3,755
OM 0 #119 3 6,215
Switzerland Girls 2024 #128 8 1,786
IQ 0 #131 3 3,533
GR 0 #135 1 3,911
MT Girls 0 #137 15 3,773
MU 0 #137 1 3,613
PA 0 #137 2 3,797
Belgium Girls 2024 #139 47 424
BW Boys 0 #151 4 4,685
AE 0 #160 18 10,220
CR 0 #160 6 5,526
PR Girls 0 #164 4 3,171
PS 0 #165 54 5,692
QA Girls 0 #174 145 15,378
KW Girls 0 #177 407 19,177
SI Girls 0 #177 1 2,769
IL 0 #180 97 6,291
NA Girls 0 #180 45 7,146
CZ 0 #185 2 3,154
LU Girls 0 #187 4 4,850
AR 0 #193 1 2,915
RU 0 #193 2 3,641
LT Girls 0 #200 1 1,904
DK 0 #202 5 5,198
MO Girls 0 #203 49 7,056
HU Girls 0 #224 2 3,308
AL Girls 0 #227 1 4,141
IL Girls 0 #228 615 11,648
IR 0 #230 2 4,221
BG Girls 0 #231 1 3,559
JM Girls 0 #231 29 7,507
JP Girls 0 #233 13 6,592
BD 0 #241 1 5,992
TW Girls 0 #242 35 8,139
GR Girls 0 #245 5 6,293
GH 0 #247 2 5,396
PT 0 #250 1 4,161
SG 0 #250 20 11,010
EC Girls 0 #257 2 3,650
OM Girls 0 #260 137 15,987
NG 0 #265 8 5,926
ZA Girls 0 #266 2,342 25,928
SA 0 #268 28 10,560
AE Girls 0 #274 298 20,968
PS Girls 0 #277 294 10,981
CN Girls 0 #279 71 8,829
JM Boys 0 #292 2 6,876
DK Girls 0 #294 23 7,429
HR Girls 0 #294 1 3,687
GH Girls 0 #304 21 6,973
JO Girls 0 #310 16 7,570
PE 0 #326 4 6,350
HK 0 #328 21 8,483
KZ Girls 0 #329 4 5,862
CN Boys 0 #331 1 9,639
DK Boys 0 #332 1 7,401
GT 0 #338 1 5,948
SG Girls 0 #343 257 18,916
CZ Girls 0 #348 4 5,378
MY 0 #349 6 12,352
SD Girls 0 #351 8 7,678
MU Girls 0 #354 9 8,539
BR 0 #359 2 5,969
GH Boys 0 #361 1 8,138
PL Girls 0 #363 2 5,096
NL 0 #372 20 2,481
ZA 0 #373 75 14,421
Finland Girls 0 #375 17 1,368
France Girls 2021 #384 22 3,185
Austria Girls 0 #386 35 1,885
SA Girls 0 #393 643 25,931
YE 0 #398 1 8,639
BD Girls 0 #404 3 8,413
PH Boys 0 #404 5 11,440
BO 0 #408 1 6,868
EG 0 #409 4 6,387
Germany 0 #411 27 2,542
CL 0 #432 3 6,867
HK Girls 0 #436 183 16,104
PT Girls 0 #438 14 7,952
MX 0 #441 5 8,339
RU Girls 0 #453 46 11,913
CR Girls 0 #454 79 11,342
PA Girls 0 #456 26 9,861
BH 0 #463 91 17,937
SD Boys 0 #466 1 10,523
NG Girls 0 #485 350 15,093
IQ Girls 0 #490 15 11,303
GT Girls 0 #495 11 7,500
PA Boys 0 #503 3 9,305
CO 0 #510 1 7,768
CR Boys 0 #510 1 10,188
CM Girls 0 #525 16 11,671
RU Boys 0 #525 2 12,621
UY Girls 0 #534 3 6,731
IR Girls 0 #540 6 8,334
LY 0 #553 7 12,703
HK Boys 0 #554 4 12,905
PS Boys 0 #560 2 10,655
IR Boys 0 #565 1 10,162
CM Boys 0 #574 2 12,054
Finland Girls 2026 #587 159 3,895
LB 0 #598 61 13,263
Germany Girls 0 #603 246 4,949
IL Boys 0 #622 4 10,983
AR Girls 0 #623 8 8,289
IN Girls 0 #649 6 13,121
BO Girls 0 #650 2 9,488
IT 0 #684 31 4,183
CL Boys 0 #700 1 13,390
SY 0 #709 20 11,684
SG Boys 0 #738 2 17,960
QA Boys 0 #739 5 18,093
KW Boys 0 #756 14 18,755
BR Boys 0 #785 1 12,213
NL Girls 0 #804 152 5,933
CL Girls 0 #830 22 14,098
TN 0 #862 4 13,765
MY Girls 0 #901 94 24,821
United States Boys 2022 #903 6 7,226
Spain Girls 0 #908 76 5,561
OM Boys 0 #916 3 17,948
PE Girls 0 #917 27 14,861
EG Boys 0 #919 7 15,035
PE Boys 0 #925 2 14,506
BR Girls 0 #927 15 12,708
EG Girls 0 #949 11 14,742
CO Boys 0 #981 1 15,656
NG Boys 0 #997 5 16,906
MX Boys 0 #1,029 5 16,355
CO Girls 0 #1,047 32 16,140
MX Girls 0 #1,072 112 17,781
MA 0 #1,119 10 20,986
ZA Boys 0 #1,124 55 25,619
AE Boys 0 #1,136 8 22,615
MY Boys 0 #1,181 2 25,439
TR 0 #1,199 13 19,440
DZ 0 #1,226 9 20,130
IT Girls 0 #1,238 209 9,415
SA Boys 0 #1,582 33 28,008

Leah is popular in 87 countries — most recent births per country:

Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom
Norway
France
Canada

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Leah

Leah is predominantly a girl's name.
Leah is a 2 syllable name, pronounced LEE-ə (IPA: /ˈliːə/).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Lea, Léa, Lia, Leia, Leya and Liya.
Across languages, Leah has these equivalents: Léa (French), Lía (Spanish), Lia (Italian, Portuguese), Le'ah (Hebrew: לֵאָה), Liya (Hebrew transliteration).
Yes, very popular — Leah ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 12 countries.
Leah ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Leah's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — at least 2 celebrity couples have chosen Leah for their child, including Jo Wood and Ronnie Wood.