Leonardo
Leonardo is a boys' name of Italian origin meaning “brave as a lion.” It ranked #63 in the United States in 2025. Perhaps the most iconic Italian name worldwide, Leonardo immediately evokes the supreme genius Leonardo da Vinci —…
how do you pronounce Leonardo?
leh-oh-NAR-doh
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Leonardo mean?
The name Leonardo means “brave as a lion.” It comes from the Italian language tradition.
Perhaps the most iconic Italian name worldwide, Leonardo immediately evokes the supreme genius Leonardo da Vinci — painter, inventor, scientist, and quintessential Renaissance man. The name has surged globally, combining leonine strength with artistic brilliance and intellectual ambition.
where does the name Leonardo come from?
The Italian form of the Germanic Leonhard, joining a lion element with hard, meaning brave or hardy. The lion element may be the Germanic lewo or the Latin leo — the two had already mingled by the time the name was formed.
the history of Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci is the name's defining bearer, and the range of his notebooks — anatomy, flight, hydraulics, painting — made his first name a shorthand for polymathic genius. The name is standard across Italy and Latin America, and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, himself named after da Vinci, renewed it in English-speaking countries.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024 | #63 |
| 2023 | #67 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Leonardo?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Leonardo?
- Leonardo da Vinci (Renaissance polymath)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Academy Award-winning actor)
what names are similar to Leonardo?
what names go well with Leonardo?
Sibling names that share Leonardo's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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