Name of the Week: Leo

 

Origin:

Leo is a Byzantine Roman name, deriving from the Latin leo "lion." Prior to its use as a given name, Leo was already established as the name of a constellation. The ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians recognised the constellation as a lion and revered it greatly as the sun passed through it during the Summer Solstice. Thus the lion constellation was connected from an early date to the sun. The Greeks believed that the lion-shaped constellation represented the Nemean Lion which was slayed by Hercules for his twelve labours. As king of all beasts, the goddess Hera placed the lion amongst the stars forever more as the constellation.  The constellation became the zodiac sign Leo, attributed to those born between July 24th and August 23rd. It is a fire sign associated with the colour gold and the ruby gemstone.

Usage:

Leo began use as an name in the Byzantine Age (The Eastern Roman Empire). An early 3rd century Christian saint from Lycia who was martyred in 260 for protesting against a Pagan festival is attributed with the name Leo, but otherwise, the name does not appear in records until the 5th century when it was borne by two key figures: Pope Leo I (400-461), now known as Saint Leo the Great, and Emperor Flavius Valerius Leo (457-474), known as Leo I the Thracian, Byzantine emperor and founder of the Leonid dynasty.  Both these two man established the name amongst the papacy and nobility. In total, 12 popes (four of whom were canonised) and six Byzantine emperors followed bearing the name. The name was later also adopted by the kings of Armenia, most notably Leo I the Magnificent (1199–1219).  In Britain, Leo was used sparingly during the Middle Ages, though at least enough to create the surnames Leo and Leon. The name "Leo camerarius" (Leo the chamberlain) appears in the Feudal Documents of Bury St Edmunds 1121-48, and one Leo appears in the Warwickshire Hundred Rolls of 1279-80. During this period, Latin Leo and Greek Leon were often interchangeable as Leon was also used as the Old French form.  After the Reformation, Leo continued to be used occasionally among Roman Catholic families, but not frequently enough to make Smith-Bannister's top 50 rankings for 1538-1700. Leo and Leon were also adopted by Jewish families as a translation of the Hebrew Arye "lion." Leo came into more general use over the course of the 19th century. It was, however, never popular enough to crack the top 100 in England and Wales, as rankings show: 1860 #237 1870 #259 1880 #204 1890 #169 1900 #124 The rise to the top 200 in 1890 was most likely influenced by the papacy of Pope Leo XIII from 1878-1903. A search through 19th century newspaper databases shows that this Pope as the most common subject of articles for the name Leo during this period. It is also worth noting that, unlike today, Leo was a little short for Victorian taste: Leonard and Leopold were much more popular during this period than Leo alone.  Leo continued to be used under the radar for much of the 20th century, as Dunkling's data for the number of children registered with the name Leo in every 10,000 births in England and Wales demonstrates:  1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990     6    8     -     -     -     -     2     -     -     -     2    6 The turn in Leo's fortune came at the turn of this century. In 1996, Leo ranked at #210 (149 births) in England and Wales, much as it had done in the 19th century. It gradually began to rise, taking a marked leap and doubling in birth count between 2000 and 2001, reaching #101.  Leo entered the top 100 in 2002 at #88 (601 births). By this point, Leonardo DiCaprio had gained even more media attention from the release of the film The Beach (2001) after his success in Titanic (1997) and the supernatural series Charmed, featuring the principle male character Leo Wyatt, was at a peak (notably 2002 also saw a large upward spike in the name Piper).  The name continued to increase apace, reaching #33 in 2006 and #20 in 2012. In 2014, Leo ranked #16  with 3414 births.  In Scotland, Leo first entered the top 100 at #81 (80 births) in 2004 and was in the top 50 by 2011. In 2015, Leo ranked #13 with 275 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * 13 Popes, 6 considered saints * 7 Byzantine emperors * 5 kings of Armenian Cilicia * Saint Leo of Catania (709-789), Catholic and Orthodox saint. * Leo of Constantinople (fl. 1134-1143), Patriarch of Constantinople. * Leo Tolstoy (1826–1910), Russian novelist. * Leo von König (1871–1944), German painter. * Leo G. Carroll (1886–1972), English actor. * Leo Arnaud (1904–1991), French-American composer. * Leo Fender (1909-1991), maker of electric guitars. * Leo Gorcey (1917–1969), American actor. Contemporary: * Leonardo "Leo" DiCaprio (b.1974), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Leo Wyatt, a character from the television series Charmed (1998-2006). * Leo Kovalensky, a character from the novel We the Living (1936) by Ayn Rand. * Leo McGarry, a character in the television series The West Wing.

Variants:

Leon (Greek), Lev, Lyev (Russian), Léo (French) Levon (Armenian)

Pronunciation:

LEE-ō [key]

Possible longer forms:

Leonardo, Leopold, Leonard, Leonidas, Leontius, Leonid, Leander, Leandro, Leandros, Leofric, Leofwin, Leontine, Leontin, Leoline, Leolin, Lionel, Lorenzo, Leodegar, Leodegrance, Alessandro, Alejandro, Valentino, Aurelio

Sibling Names:

Sophia     Isla     Ella     Grace     Sienna     Ava   Oliver     Luca     Jude     Oscar     George     Owen

Name Lists:

Slim Softies  Ripe Renovations  Short and Sweet  Saintly and Stylish   Astronomical Names    Golden Age Hollywood

 

 

If you like Leo you may also like:    Levi, Theo, Milo, Rex, Arlo, Ivo, Seth, Ludo, Hugo, Lev

 

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this post.