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Lenin

#2,910 in 2025Boys' name

Russian surname transferred into given-name use

Lenin has been given to 1,727 babies in the U.S. since 1925. In 2025 it ranked #2,910 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 83 recorded.

Babies named Lenin, 2025

1 in 77,100

Lenin over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
025507510018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Lenin: meaning, origin, and history

Russian surname transferred into given-name use

Russian

What Lenin means

Lenin is a given name.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Lenin is used in Spanish (Latin American).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈle.nin/ for Lenin.

The naming story behind Lenin

Lenin is a given name adopted from Russian surname. This establishes the immediate naming route. A surname transfer is different from a direct translation of the modern given-name spelling; the family name may have its own earlier derivation.

Origin, language, and formation

Lenin is used in Portuguese. Its origins include Russian.

Lenin comes through Russian Ленин.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Portuguese, Lenin is pronounced /ˈlẽ.nĩ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,722 boys were recorded with the name Lenin between 1925 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 83 in 2018; its best national rank was #1,828 in 2018.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,453 in 2020 to #2,910 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,124 in 2015 to #2,910 in 2025.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Lenin between 2013 and 2013. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2013; its best national rank was #18,134 in 2013.

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 Lenin?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 77,100
43 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 39,700
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,910
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
53,441 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Lenin sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 53,441 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Lenin. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Lenins were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Lenin was born before 2009 — so the typical Lenin is around 16 today.

Median birth year
2009
About 16 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
30.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
70.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,717
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 30.6% of all recorded uses (527).

Is Lenin 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
−54
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−457
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−786
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.65×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
51.8%
Peak was 2018 (83)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
18.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,828
2018

Spellings of Lenin

Lenin is not the most common spelling — Kevin is, with 50.5% against Lenin's 0.07%.

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 Lenin is used

Across 2016–2025, Lenin was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 14,286 boys, against 1 in 24,597 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 100,000).

17 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 14,286
  2. 2Texas1 in 20,000
  3. 3Illinois1 in 33,333
  4. 4Arizona1 in 50,000
  5. 5Colorado1 in 50,000
  6. 6Georgia1 in 100,000
  7. 7New York1 in 100,000
  8. 8Tennessee1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys 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.

Lenin around the world

Where Lenin 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.

  • Scotland
    2006–2006
    #584
    in 2006
  • France
    1926–1927
    #962
    in 1927
  • South Australia
    1975–1990
    #484
    in 1990

Popularity data from National Records of Scotland, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Lenin by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,910
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 457
Best rank ever
#1,828
2018
Peak year
2018
83 that year
First recorded
1925
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,722
Count in 2025
43

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#18,134
2013
Peak year
2013
5 that year
First recorded
2013
Last recorded
2013
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Lenin

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

LenninLenoxLennieLennyLenoLenyxLenordLenixLennixLennonLennisLenonLenLenardLenzyLennoxLentonRoninLendonLenwoodLennardLenellLennLennex

Sibling names for Lenin

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 Lenin

Top names of 2018, Lenin's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2018Boys' names starting with LUncommon Portuguese Boy Names