Leopold

Where Leopold comes from

From Old French Leopold, from Old High German liut (“people”) + bald (“bold”). The first part is sometimes associated by folk etymology with Latin leo (“lion”), as in Leo and Leonard. More at lede, bold.
— Wiktionary's entry for Leopold
  • Germanic
  • 3 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1790
    Leopold I of Belgium born
    German prince who became the first King of the Belgians
  2. 1835
    Leopold II of Belgium born
    King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909
  3. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #682 among boys — 8 babies in the first year on record.
  4. 1895
    Peak, #579
    13 babies named Leopold — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1897
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages. Used in the 19th century but rare today.
Namesakes
  • Leopold II of Belgium · King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, 1835–1909
  • Leopold I of Belgium · German prince who became the first King of the Belgians, 1790–1865
  • Leopold von Ranke · German historian and founder of modern source-based history, 1795–1886
  • Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor · Holy Roman Emperor (1658-1705), King of Hungary and Croatia and King of Bohemia, 1640–1705
  • Leopold III of Belgium · king of the Belgians from 1934 to 1951, 1901–1983

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.