Leif

maleOld Norse

Commonly interpreted as 'heir' or 'descendant'.

Origin: Old Norse — From 'leif', meaning 'heir' or 'descendant'.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #17 in Norway in 1951. See regions.

Leif: Recorded every year since 1945, its highest recorded position is #17, and it stood at #225 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
108times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#17highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for
35names it appears alongside

What stands out in Leif's record

Ranked every year since 1945, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 38 years running. Names by top-100 run
Moved 125 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move
Shares a published list with another name across 81 years. Longest shared records

LAYF (also LEEF)/leɪf/ (also /liːf/)

Compare Leif Run Name Checker on Leif

Data Confidence

Evidence: HighCompleteness: CompleteEditorial review: 2026-06-15

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, most expected sections are populated, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-06-15), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (2) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: Commonly interpreted as 'heir' or 'descendant'.
Pronunciation: LAYF (also LEEF)
Syllables: 1
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: traditional
Gender usage: male
Language family: Old Norse

Popularity

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1591
1999	#2943
2000	#2501
2001	#1746
2002	#2636
2003	#1771
2004	#1878
2005	#1617
2006	#4052
2007	#1578
2008	#3687
2009	#1568
2011	#3300
2012	#2458
2013	#2954
2014	#1935
2015	#1786
2016	#1704
2017	#1703
2018	#1455
2019	#2104
2020	#1548
2021	#1782
2022	#967
2023	#827
2024	#814
2025	#1007

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in every year from 1945 to 2025.

In 2025: #225 among boys in Norway, #1007 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #17 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #1007 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

Leif appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 81 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 10,741 births with the name.

Leif across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Leif's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Boys	#17 (1945)	#17 (1945)	#225 (2025)	81 of 81	10,741 (1945–2025)	436 (1946)
England and Wales · Boys	#1591 (1996)	#814 (2024)	#1007 (2025)	27 of 30	352 (1996–2025)	40 (2024)

Leif by decade in Norway · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Leif in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940sbusiest	2,064	5 of 10	413
1950s	3,295	10 of 10	330
1960s	2,506	10 of 10	251
1970s	1,375	10 of 10	138
1980s	719	10 of 10	72
1990s	375	10 of 10	38
2000s	178	10 of 10	18
2010s	129	10 of 10	13
2020s	100	6 of 10	17

Across Norway · Boys, the 1940s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 413 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1956 and 1957, when recorded births fell by 76, from 363 to 287.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Leif appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 81 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #17, first reached in 1945.

It held a top-100 place in 38 years, 38 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 436 births, registered in Norway in 1946.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 51 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Leif was ranked #17 in Norway · Boys in 1945. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Lei · #2870, 8y
Leia · #238, 30y
Leigh · #92, 55y
Leigha · #268, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Cecilie · #17, 80y
Else · #15, 80y
Gustav · #19, 81y
Ronny · #15, 81y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Alice · #17, 81y
Cecilie · #17, 80y
Eileen · #17, 79y
Jørgen · #17, 81y

Comparisons involving Leif

Existing comparison pages where Leif and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Leif in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Aksel vs Leif
Aksel and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #25 and #225.
Aksel · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Anders vs Leif
Anders and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #293 and #225.
Anders · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Andreas vs Leif
Andreas and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #96 and #225.
Andreas · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Leif measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Leif at its highest position.

Arne vs Leif
Arne and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #222 and #225.
Arne · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Bjørn vs Leif
Bjørn and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #56 and #225.
Bjørn · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Christian vs Leif
Christian and Leif were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #131 and #225.
Christian · Leif · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Leif and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Leif without appearing here.

Leif moved ahead of

Harald Compare
In 2014 they stood at #4052 and #4052 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #1786 and #4747.
Graeme
In 2008 they stood at #4052 and #2870 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #1568 and #4527.
Garry
In 2013 they stood at #2954 and #2216 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #1935 and #4632.
Rodney
In 2011 they stood at #3300 and #2613 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #2458 and #4805.

Moved ahead of Leif

Tadhg
In 2010 they stood at #1568 and #1749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #3300 and #1251.
Theodor
In 2010 they stood at #1568 and #2544 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #3300 and #1522.
Hudson
In 1998 they stood at #1591 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1999 that had become #2943 and #1850.
Finn Compare
In 2007 they stood at #311 and #345 in Norway · Boys; by 2008 that had become #364 and #215.

Moved the opposite way to Leif

Aksel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 while Aksel went from #174 to #25.
Alfred
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 while Alfred went from #127 to #26.
Arthur
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 while Arthur went from #153 to #83.
Daniel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 while Daniel went from #280 to #66.

Moved the same way as Leif

Anders Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 and Anders from #55 to #293.
Arild Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 and Arild from #32 to #489.
Arne Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 and Arne from #6 to #222.
Bjørn Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Leif went from #17 to #225 and Bjørn from #3 to #56.

Meaning & Origin

Commonly interpreted as 'heir' or 'descendant'.

VerifiedSource: Namewise editorial team, Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Old Norse

From 'leif', meaning 'heir' or 'descendant'.

VerifiedSource: Namewise editorial team, Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Leif is officially recorded

2 official registrars have recorded Leif, between 1945 and 2025. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1945–2025	81	#17 in 1945
England and Wales	1996–2025	27	#814 in 2024

Its high point came 79 years earlier in Norway (1945) than in England and Wales (2024).

Variants

Leiv · spelling

Similar Names

See full comparison →

Magnus0% similar

Both are historical Old Norse names with modern niche revival.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

Common alternate spellings: Leiv.

Pronunciation

LAYF (also LEEF)/leɪf/ (also /liːf/)

Syllables: 1
Ease: easy

Demonstration dataSource: Namewise editorial team.Confidence: low.

Where Leif Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Leif in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorway

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Preview with a surname

Entirely local — nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.

Full sibling-set and initials-across-a-shortlist matching is a planned premium feature — see Premium.

Leif

Leif at a glance

What stands out in Leif's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Leif across 2 official records

Leif by decade in Norway · Boys

Leif appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Leif

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Leif

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Leif and the names beside it

Leif moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Leif

Moved the opposite way to Leif

Moved the same way as Leif

Meaning & Origin

Where Leif is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Leif Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Leif at a glance

What stands out in Leif's record

Leif across 2 official records

Leif by decade in Norway · Boys

Leif appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Leif

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Leif

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Leif and the names beside it

Leif moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Leif

Moved the opposite way to Leif

Moved the same way as Leif