first name
LIONEL
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 20,014 people named Lionel, 38.2% reported their origin as Black, 30% as Hispanic or Latino and 23.9% as White. Virtually all are male (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Lionel peaked in 2023, when 609 babies got the name.
At least 33,833 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Lionel by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #691. The largest share of babies named Lionel, 20.8%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Lionel is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Lionel has been most common in Louisiana (8.9×), Maine (5.6×), and New Hampshire (4.4×), and least common in Minnesota (0.15×).
27,437 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Lionel
Spelled almost the same
3 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lionel, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Lionel ranks #87,624 of 156,621, with 228 people. See Lionel as a last name
Compare
🔎 LIONEL 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 15,091 Americans Rarer than 75.9% of us Peaked in 2023 with 609 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/lionel/