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Leif

Quick answerLeif means "heir" or "descendant" and derives from the Old Norse name Leifr, composed of the elements "leif" (heir/legacy) and related to Proto-Germanic roots.

Swedish · Boy · 1 syllable

L
Top 1,000

Popularity & facts

Relative popularity index, 2010–2025
GenderBoy
US Rank#917
TrendStable
Peak year2022
Syllables1
OriginSwedish
LanguageSwedish
CultureSwedish, Norwegian, Danish
Letters4
Numerology5 Chaldean 8
Global rank#223

Popularity over time

Popularity index
Hover the line to see any year. 100 = most popular.

Historical popularity from 1880–2025 · US Social Security Administration data

About the name Leif

Leif means "heir" or "descendant" and derives from the Old Norse name Leifr, composed of the elements "leif" (heir/legacy) and related to Proto-Germanic roots.

Cross-referenced with Wikidata/Wikipedia. AI-assisted, community-reviewable. Suggest an improvement.

Etymology

Leif means "heir" or "descendant" and derives from the Old Norse name Leifr, composed of the elements "leif" (heir/legacy) and related to Proto-Germanic roots. The name is primarily used in Scandinavian cultures, particularly Iceland and Norway, and gained historical prominence through Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer credited with being among the first Europeans to reach North America around 1000 CE.

Leif currently ranks #917 in the United States as a boy's name. It reached its peak popularity around 2022.

Variants & nicknames

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Sibling name ideas

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Phonetic match, not just spelling
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"Levi means "joined" or "attached" and derives from the Hebrew root לוי (Levi), historically signifying attachment or adherence."

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"The given name 'Livia' is derived from the Latin word 'lividus,' meaning 'blue' or 'bluish-gray,' and is associated with the…"

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"The name 'Liv' is derived from the Old Norse word 'hlíf', meaning 'protection' or 'shield', and is also related to…"

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Leevi
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"Leevi is the Finnish form of Levi, derived from the Hebrew name לֵוִי (Levi), meaning "joined" or "attached," originally referring…"

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Lev
Unisex Russian

"The given name 'Lev' is derived from the Hebrew word 'lev', meaning 'heart', and is also related to the Slavic…"

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Liva
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"The given name 'Liva' is derived from the Arabic word 'لِيفا' (Līfā), meaning 'a branch or a twig', and is…"

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Love
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"The name Love derives from the Old English word "lufu," meaning affection or devotion, and is related to Old Norse…"

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"The name Live is a Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse, meaning "to live" or "life," rooted in the verb…"

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Lova
Unisex Swedish

"# Lova Lova derives from Sanskrit and means "beloved" or "desired," with roots in ancient Indo-European linguistic traditions."

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Livio
Boy Italian

"The given name 'Livio' is derived from the Latin name Livius, meaning 'from Livius', a Roman gens (clan) name, and…"

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"The given name 'Libby' is derived from the Hebrew name 'Leib' or 'Levi', meaning 'joined' or 'attached', and is linguistically…"

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"The given name 'Loup' is derived from the Old French word 'loup', meaning 'wolf', and is related to the Latin…"

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