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Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
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Lea is also English, used alongside Leah in English.
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English Pronunciations: LEE-ə, LAY-ə.
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Lea is Barbie's Asian American friend. She was in production under the "Lea" name from the year 2000 until the mid 2000s. Her face sculpt is still used today.
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Also Portuguese: https://www.behindthename.com/name/lea/top/brazil
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This name can be pronounced multiple ways depending on dialect, accent, and which name you’re using this spelling for. It’s my middle name, but pronounced “Lee.” My grandma, who had to name me while my mom was evidently loopy off of painkillers at the time, spelled it this way because she didn’t like the Robert E Lee association. When moving across country, this is a name that tends to change on you—in the Midwest most people understood it was the British pronunciation (like in the Adele song “River Lea”) but out West it gets pronounced “Lee-ah” like Jacob’s wife. Which I didn’t mind—it’s far better than my first name which I despise—until I came across the East Coast pronunciation…”Lay-uh” like in Star Wars. So I now go by “Lee” and spell it “Lee” because I just can not with that Princess Leia pronunciation (I have lots of East Coast friends.) Sigh…anyway, irritating as the myriad pronunciations can be, it’s still a good name and I love the “Lea” spelling. I’m not happy about having to go by “Lee” to ensure the correct pronunciation, but it is what it is.
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This name is so classy and beautiful! This was also my grandmother's name, who was a very intelligent woman. I believe this name ages really well with a child. Some short names (I have one too) can feel a bit childish in adulthood, but not this one.
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My name is Lea. I hated it for years, after someone found out that Lea means kow in some language. And also because it sounds like an old lady's name. I'm from Finland and it's more common around older people than younger, even though Lea is not a very common name in any age group in Finland at the moment. Therefore I don't know any other from my age who is named as Lea.
Recently I have learned to like a bit my name though. As if just now I've learned that it really is a rare name here. In Finland Lea is pronounced quite boringly as it is written. No "Leah" or "Lee" or "Lay-uh". Especially the last one sounds really nice in fact.
As Lea is a rare name here, I never find any stuff with the name Lea on it. Such as pens or magnets or something like that. That is a bit sad, especially when I was younger.
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Recently I have learned to like a bit my name though. As if just now I've learned that it really is a rare name here. In Finland Lea is pronounced quite boringly as it is written. No "Leah" or "Lee" or "Lay-uh". Especially the last one sounds really nice in fact.
As Lea is a rare name here, I never find any stuff with the name Lea on it. Such as pens or magnets or something like that. That is a bit sad, especially when I was younger.
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Also Romansh:
Source: "Vornamen in der Schweiz. Prénoms en Suisse. I nomi in Svizzera. Prenoms in Svizra" (1993) published by the Association of Swiss registrars
https://sursassiala.ch/2015/01/15/familienforschung/
https://www.portraitarchiv.ch/portrait?page=69
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Source: "Vornamen in der Schweiz. Prénoms en Suisse. I nomi in Svizzera. Prenoms in Svizra" (1993) published by the Association of Swiss registrars
https://sursassiala.ch/2015/01/15/familienforschung/
https://www.portraitarchiv.ch/portrait?page=69
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Gorgeous spelling.
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Lea (pronounced as “Lay-uh”) is a really pretty name!
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I was taught to pronounce it as Lee and that it was an Irish word for meadow.
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I love this name because it's so very sweet ❤❤.
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Also Judeo-French: https://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/jewish/levy/lea.html
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It's an okay name but I prefer Leah!
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I've struggled my entire life with people pronouncing my name "wrong"... but I knew it was just a mistake, unfamiliarity, or personal translation. I was named Aubrey Lea. My mom spelled it this way and pronounced it LEE, as well. People were also unfamiliar with the name Aubrey in our area, so I was called Audrey constantly. My maiden name also had mistakenly been pronounced with an ARD at the end, when it is pronounced ERD... BUT IT'S SPELLED ARD!
I completely understand the struggle, but it just makes us more unique:)
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I completely understand the struggle, but it just makes us more unique:)
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Also Spanish (Modern). There are 1.670 bearers of this name in Spain and the average age of the bearers is 14 (source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística).
https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea (Leah in the Spanish Bible)
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https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea (Leah in the Spanish Bible)
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It is a bit boring and the meaning isn't great either.
In Germany it has been in the top 20 for 25 years and it was popular before that already. I know lots and lots born between the 80s and recently. It needs a good long break.
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In Germany it has been in the top 20 for 25 years and it was popular before that already. I know lots and lots born between the 80s and recently. It needs a good long break.
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I love love love this name! I pronounce it "Lay-uh". I think in North America, people will assume "Lee-uh". However, there are people that do pronounce the way I do.
Lea "Lay-uh" is overall an exceptionally beautiful name for a girl. How wonderful! I get reminded of a tea set, strangely. Not a bad thing. I definitely prefer it to Leia, which reminds me of Star Wars. Star Wars is definitely not a bad association, it just makes you look like a super fan, which I'm not.
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Lea "Lay-uh" is overall an exceptionally beautiful name for a girl. How wonderful! I get reminded of a tea set, strangely. Not a bad thing. I definitely prefer it to Leia, which reminds me of Star Wars. Star Wars is definitely not a bad association, it just makes you look like a super fan, which I'm not.
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This name is all-right, but I love Leah better. Plus we pronounce both names "Lay ah".
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Much prefer Leah.
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Also Judeo-French and Judeo-Anglo-Norman.
Source: Seror, Simon "Les noms des femmes juives en Angleterre au Moyen Âge".
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Source: Seror, Simon "Les noms des femmes juives en Angleterre au Moyen Âge".
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Also Provençal: https://ieo-oc.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=300 --- Source: Institut d'Estudis Occitans
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It is also Hawaiian. It's pronounced LAY-uh.
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Sounds very pretty.
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My middle name is Lea and my parents intended for it to be pronounced like Lee. They spelled it with an a because they preferred it to Lee. I love the name but secretly wish they pronounced it like Leah (but spelled as Lea), just because I think it sounds pretty. I also like the meaning being "meadow." Whenever people see my middle name spelled out, they always think it's pronounced as Leah and I have to correct them.
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Also Estonian: https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea_(eesnimi) [noted -ed]
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My name is Lea but is pronounced Leah. I like my name but sometimes it’s annoying because if someone calls my name they say it the different way.
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Great nickname for Azalea!
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I think this is a sweet name, but I definitely prefer it as a nickname.
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The form Lea (without h) if someone has it is derivated from Latin word Leo which means lion so the word Lea is feminine which means "lioness" in Latin. So if someone has name like Lea or Léa it's actually Latin and not Hebrew while Leah with h is Hebrew.
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Everyone who says Leah sucks, that is your opinion so don’t say that like you know everything. I prefer Leah to Lea so that makes me very annoyed. I’m not saying Lea sucks, I like it too, but Leah just looks more complete to me.
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Also used in Poland (https://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea_(imi%C4%99)). The Polish pronunciation is LEH-a.
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Also a Galician variant of Lía: http://www.ige.eu/igebdt/esq.jsp?idioma=gl&ruta=onomast/nomes.jsp
https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_nomes_femininos_en_galego#I
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https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_nomes_femininos_en_galego#I
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Lea is WAY better than Leah.
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Leah sucks. Lea is so beautiful.
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Also Hungarian: https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea. [noted -ed]
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While I prefer Lea to Lee, I also prefer Leah to Lea.
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In 2018, 40 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Lea who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 1223rd most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.
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My name is Kaylie but I use Lea as a nickname. The name Lea sounds versatile and kind of pretty.
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My name is Lea and I really love my name. I'm from Hungary. It's not a very common name in my country. For example, when I see magnets or pens or anything else with names on it, I never find one with Lea on it.
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Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz musician. The "famously controversial" DeLaria was "the first openly gay comic to break the late-night talk-show barrier" with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. She is best known for her portrayal of inmate Big Boo on Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.
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My mother gave me the middle name of Lea, but pronounced it 'Lee'.
This was her intention.
She said that she spelled it with an 'a' at the end to feminize it.
This makes me think that I'm the only one who has this pronunciation of this name.
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This was her intention.
She said that she spelled it with an 'a' at the end to feminize it.
This makes me think that I'm the only one who has this pronunciation of this name.
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Also used in Hungary. Pronounced: LE-aw.
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The name is also used in Iceland.
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We pronounce it Lee. In Middle English it means meadow.
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My name is Lea, pronounced Lee-ah. I was named Lea because my mother's middle name is Lee. I like to believe I was named after Leah in the Bible, but I know I'm not. I agree with what someone posted about always having your name mispronounced. I've spent the majority of my life yelling out "Lee-ah" when people pronounce my name as Lee. It's a breath of fresh air when someone pronounces it correctly on the first go around.
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This is my middle name, and my parents chose to pronounce it "lee." much like the word "flea" is pronounced "flee". My grandfather even had a rhyme to go with it. My name is Tonya and his nickname for me is "Tawny" and his little song that he used to sing to me went something like this, "Tawny Lea is a flea and she is really buggin' me."
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Lea is very pretty, and it could be used as a feminine variant of Leo.
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Lea Michele Sarfati is an American actress and singer.
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Lea also celebrate name day April 29th in Czechia.
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Lea is also Czech form of Leah.
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My friend's name is Lea, and she pronounces it "Leah". Our teacher pronounces it "Leia" because he had a friend with the same name, and she pronounced it that way. So, to me, it seems that if you name your kid this, while pretty, it could get really annoying if people keep pronouncing it wrong.
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It is pronounced Leh-ah in Norway. Nice three letter name and I prefer the Norwegian pronunciation :)
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Other than being a variant of Leah, Lea also means "lioness" in Latin.
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Also a girls' name in Croatia. [noted -ed]
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Lea is also Finnish form of Leah. [noted -ed]
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I'm surprised that as thorough a resource as "Behind the Name" only acknowledges ONE pronunciation for this name. This simple three-letter name can be pronounced several ways. The "German" way this site suggest would only be one--and I'm not even sure THAT's accurate. As someone who has German as a 2nd language, I'd say it's closer to LAY-a. Actress Lea Thompson, however, pronounces her name LEE-a (I believe). Whereas newswoman Lea Thompson pronounces it LEE. As a last name it's also monosyllabic (LEA & PERRIN).
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I like this name, but there's an urban legend going around that there's a girl who spells it Le-a. On top of that, she supposedly pronounces it "Ledasha".
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Lea Michele, an actress and singer, portrays the character of Rachel Berry in Fox's new show "Glee."
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Italian assistant director Alessandro Casale and Slovak actress Barbora Bobul'ová have a daughter Lea Casale, born 2007.
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The Dutch pronunciation is LAY-ah.
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Lea is also Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish form.
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A famous bearer is Czech triathlonist and biathlonist Lea Johanides.
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Lea Thompson is an American actress, famous for her role as Lorraine in "Back to the Future."
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I much prefer the LAY-ah pronunciation of this name. I think LE-ah is so boring and blah.
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I think the spelling of Leah is much more attractive.
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Lea is also the Dutch form of Leah. [noted -ed]
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This name sounds really nasal to me. When I was seven I liked the name, but now I absolutely hate it because I know someone named Lea that I am not particularly fond of.
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Popular girls name in Slovenia. [noted -ed]
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This is such a cute name!
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Jesse McCartney's younger sister's name is Lea Joyce McCartney.
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Lea Salonga is a Broadway performer.
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This name actually means "wild cow" or "someone who tries hard without having success".
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This name is pronounced Lay-ah in Germany. It´s really popular here.
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