Name of the Week

A symbolically majestic name with a cosy-crusty vibe.
Now given new life in the European pronunciation thanks to 
a superstar football player.

 

Origin:

Lionel is a medieval diminutive form of the Old French Leon, itself a form of the Latin name Leo "lion," using the diminutive suffix -el. Because of this suffix, several sources fancy the meaning of Lionel as "little lion."

Usage:

We can trace the name Lionel right back to Arthurian legend. Sir Lionel was a son of King Bors of Gaul and double cousin of Lancelot. When his father died, legend has it that Lionel and his brother were raised with Lancelot by the Lady of the Lake and, like his cousin, later became a Knight of the Round Table.  There are a few smatterings of the name in use in the early Middle Ages, but, overall, they are difficult to come by. A Lunell Wodeward is mentioned on the 1273 Essex Hundred rolls, and a Lionet (another diminutive of Leon analogous to Lionel) is found on a London Subsidy Roll of 1292. Posterity also remembers a Lionel de Bradenham who laid seige to Colchester in 1350. Overall however, the name was very rare until it was used by Edward III for his third son. It is well known that Edward III was fascinated by knightly chivalry and was always keen to emulate King Arthur. He specifically adopted for himself the lion passant guardant, known as a leopard in heraldic terms, and used the symbol in a very effective form of early royal propaganda -- he even kept real leopards and lions at the Tower of London. The lion was king of beasts and a symbol of Christ, used as a archetype of kingship for many generations so it made for an obvious kingly metaphor for Edward.  Intriguingly, in 1334, Edward entered a tournament at Dunstable under the name 'Sir Lionel' with his own newly created arms. Historians such as Juliet Vale* have suggested that Edward specifically assumed the name Lionel, not only because it gave him an Arthurian knightly association but also served as a symbolic 'royal persona' which didn't demote him socially to the lower rank of knight.  Essentially, through the name Lionel "little lion," Edward became the embodiment of his royal symbol during the tournament. Four years later, in 1338 he gave the name to his son, Lionel of Antwerp, and still seems to have been attached to the name himself, using the 'Sir Lionel' arms once again in a tournament in 1342.  As Caroline Shenton put's it, "This, more than any other example, strikingly indicates how imaginative was Edward III's manipulation of the traditional imagery of English kingship. The diminutive coinage, 'Lionel', was not simply an affectionate play on words. 'Lyonellus' or 'little lion' - the meaning intended at the 1334 tournament - can also, obviously, be interpreted as 'son of the lion.' [...] From then on, Edward had a living metaphor, in the form of his son, to embody his view of kingship and the role of his family in sustaining that image.* The name seems to have caught on, at least a little, after this royal namesake. By the 16th century surname forms Lynell, Linell, Lunel and Linnell appear in records, while the contracted form Lyall/Lyell was common in North England and the Scottish lowlands. It was in low-moderate use from the 16th to 18th century, appearing twice in Norfolk baptism from 1585-1603 and twice again from 1660-1702.  In Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in fourty English parishes, Lionel appears in the top 50 in only one decade: #46 in the 1630s.  Lionel was well used among the peerage. The name is notable among the earls of Middlesex, the first of whom was Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575–1645), and also frequently by the Tollemache family, later earls of Dysart. Most famous among name fans is the Reverend Ralph William Lyonel Tollemache-Tollemache (1826-1895) who not only named his eldest son Lyonel (later Sir Lyonel Tollemache, 4th Baronet), he also have his other children a series of eccentric names, all based on the name Lyonel. His four youngest daughters were Lyonesse, Lyona, Lyonella, Lyonetta, and all but one of his sons had a related name: Leo, Leone, Lyunulph and Lyulph Ydwallo Odin Nestor Egbert Lyonel (the initials of which spell "LYONEL"). Thanks to the Victorian love of the medieval, Lionel had a surge in popularity in the latter half of the 19th century. In 1860 Lionel ranked only #169, but had risen to #122 in 1870, #95 in 1880, #81 in 1890 and #97 in 1900.  Data from the 1881 census shows that Lionel was most popular, relative to population size, in the South of England.  It remained in the top 100 in England and Wales up until the 1930s -- #86 in 1904, #81 in 1914 and #90 in 1924 -- after which it fell out. From 1996 to 2006, Lionel had no more than 10 births in any given year in England and Wales. Since then, it has been sporadically rising, most likely thanks to football star Lionel Messi. It is impossible to tell from the data how many of these little Lionel's share Messi's European pronunciation of the name (lee-ō-NEL) as opposed to the British pronunciation, but I have met and know of little Lionel's who were named for the footballer.  Lionel was not in the top 100 in Scotland in 1900, 1950 or 1975 and since 1974, has only been registered on nine boys.  In 2013, Lionel ranked #1339 (18 births) in England and Wales, and did not rank at all in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368), son of King Edward III of England. * Lionel Woodville (d. 1484), Bishop of Salisbury, brother of Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England. * Lionel Duckett (1511–1587), Lord Mayor of London. * Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575–1645), English merchant and nobleman. * Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954), was an American actor. Contemporary: * Lionel Hampton (1908-2002), American jazz musician. * Lionel Jeffries (1926-2010), English actor. * Lionel Bart (1930-1999), British composer. * Lionel Cox (1930–2010), Australian cyclist. * Lionel Blair (b. 1931), British dancer and actor. * Lionel Richie (b. 1949), American singer, songwriter. * Lionel Messi (b.1987), Argentine footballer. Literature and Other Media: * Sir Lionel, a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend.

Variants:

Lyonel, Lyell

Pronunciation:

LĪ-ə-nel / LĪ-nəl (UK) lee-ō-NEL (Europe) [key]

Possible diminutives:

Leo, Lio, Lyle

Sibling Names:

Agnes     Blythe     Contance     Sybil     Audrey     Wilhelmina  Virgil     Eugene     Reginald     Giles     Sylvester     Cedric

Name Lists:

Funky Clunky   Upright Elegance   British Royalty   Victorian Darlings   Golden Age Hollywood   Gilbert and Sullivan Names

 

If you like Lionel you may also like:    Linus, Alphonso, Leopold, Inigo, Leoline, Eustace, Leonard, Randolph, Chester, Llewelyn

 

Thanks to Paula for requesting this post.