Gender Masculine
Pronounced Pron. LYAW-NEHL(French) LIE-ə-nəl(English) LIE-nəl(English)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

French diminutive of Léon. It appears in Arthurian legend in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail Cycle, belonging to a knight who was the brother of Sir Bors. A notable modern bearer is the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (1987-).

Related Names

VariantLéonel(French)
Feminine FormsLéone, Léonne(French)
Other Languages & CulturesLeon, Leontios, Leontius(Ancient Greek) Leo, Levon(Armenian) Leo, Leon(Croatian) Leoš(Czech) Leo(Danish) Leo, Leon(Dutch) Leo(Estonian) Leo(Finnish) Levan(Georgian) Leo, Leon(German) Leon(Greek) Leone, Leonzio(Italian) Leo(Late Roman) Leons(Latvian) Leonas(Lithuanian) Leo(Norwegian) Leon, Lew(Polish) Leão, Leonel(Portuguese) Leonti, Leontiy, Leonty, Lev(Russian) Leon(Slovene) León, Leoncio, Leonel(Spanish) Leo(Swedish)

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   strong   refined   strange   serious  

Categories

Entry updated December 7, 2022