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Leni

#1,179 in 2025Girls' name

Diminutive of Helene

Leni has been given to 1,962 babies in the U.S. since 1938. In 2025 it ranked #1,179 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2023, with 201 recorded.

Babies named Leni, 2025

1 in 16,800

Leni over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Leni: meaning, origin, and history

Diminutive of Helene

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Leni means

Leni is a diminutive of Helene.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Leni → Helene → Helene → Ἑλένη. The family’s meaning is “to shine, warm, smoulder, burn”, recorded in Ancient Greek with the source elements swel-.

Origin, language, and formation

Leni is used in Atayal and German.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Helene and Magdalene.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,935 girls were recorded with the name Leni between 1938 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 201 in 2023; its best national rank was #1,179 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,940 in 2020 to #1,179 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,813 in 2015 to #1,179 in 2025.

In the United States, 27 boys were recorded with the name Leni between 2007 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 7 in 2023; its best national rank was #10,338 in 2023.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Leni?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,800
197 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 8,160
0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#1,179
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,666 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Leni sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,666 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Leni. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Lenis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Leni was born before 2019 — so the typical Leni is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
48.7% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
80.6%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,792
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 48.7% of all recorded uses (942).

Is Leni rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+67
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+761
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,634
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
4.92×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
98.0%
Peak was 2023 (201)
Years since peak
2
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
26.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,179
2025

Spellings of Leni

Leni is not the most common spelling — Lori is, with 14.4% against Leni's 0.08%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Leni is used

Across 2016–2025, Leni was most concentrated in North Dakota — about 1 in 1,176 girls, against 1 in 15,867 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in 100,000).

185 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1North Dakota1 in 1,176
  2. 2Minnesota1 in 2,703
  3. 3South Dakota1 in 5,882
  4. 4Wisconsin1 in 6,667
  5. 5Illinois1 in 10,000
  6. 6Iowa1 in 11,111
  7. 7New York1 in 11,111
  8. 8Colorado1 in 12,500

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Leni around the world

Where Leni ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2025
    #514
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2007–2025
    #474
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    2021–2025
    #259
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2013–2025
    #718
    in 2025
  • France
    1986–2024
    #3,632
    in 2024
  • Norway
    1880–2023
    #377
    in 2023
  • Canada
    2006–2024
    #708
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1955–2012
    #563
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Leni by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#1,179
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 761
Best rank ever
#1,179
2025
Peak year
2023
201 that year
First recorded
1938
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,935
Count in 2025
197

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#10,338
2023
Peak year
2023
7 that year
First recorded
2007
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
27
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Leni

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

LennaLennyLenoxDeniLennynLennieLenniLennoxYeniLenyxLendaJeniLenaeLennixLeneLenitaEleniKeniLeniaLenixLenayaLennonLeneeMaleni

Sibling names for Leni

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Leni

Top names of 2023, Leni's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2025Girls' names starting with LHelen Variations & Nicknames