Leif

Where Leif comes from

Leif hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 972
    Leif Erikson born
    norse explorer
  2. 1912
    First appearance
    #2,045 among boys, 7 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1944
    Leif Segerstam born
    Finnish conductor and composer
  4. 1979
    Peak, #638
    181 babies named Leif — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1989
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,184.
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Leif Erikson · norse explorer, 972–1020
  • Leif Segerstam · Finnish conductor and composer, 1944–2024
  • Leif Ove Andsnes · Norwegian pianist, born 1970
  • Leif Erickson · American actor, 1911–1986
  • Leif G. W. Persson · Swedish criminologist and writer, born 1945

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.