Lenny

Where Lenny comes from

The dictionaries list Lenny as a given name — a diminutive of the male given name Leonard — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1914
    First appearance
    #3,264 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1925
    Lenny Bruce born
    American comedian and social critic
  3. 1937
    Lenny Wilkens born
    American basketball player and coach
  4. 1961
    Peak, #555
    199 babies named Lenny — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1973
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #839.
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given name Leonard.
Namesakes
  • Lenny Bruce · American comedian and social critic, 1925–1966
  • Lenny Wilkens · American basketball player and coach, 1937–2025
  • Lenny Kuhr · Dutch singer-songwriter, born 1950
  • Lenny Abrahamson · Irish film director, born 1966
  • Lenny Henry · British-Jamaican actor and comedian, born 1958

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.