Holding steady, #8,910 for boys today.
Popularity of Len since 1880
Babies named Len per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1960, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Len's real moment was 1885.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 91 |
| 1890s | 65 |
| 1900s | 87 |
| 1910s | 242 |
| 1920s | 314 |
| 1930s | 360 |
| 1940s | 560 |
| 1950s | 829 |
| 1960s | 896 |
| 1970s | 494 |
| 1980s | 208 |
| 1990s | 113 |
| 2000s | 94 |
| 2010s | 108 |
| 2020s | 53 |
Meaning & origin
Len has been recorded in U.S. baby name data since 1880, when official records began. Its highest popularity came early, reaching a peak rank in 1885. By 2025, the name had settled into a stable but uncommon usage, ranking 8910 with roughly 1 in 213,510 newborns receiving the name. While it never cracked the top 500, Len represents a concise, no-frills alternative to the longer classic Leonard. Its trajectory over the decades has been stable, never experiencing sharp rises or falls, making it a quietly enduring choice. No single state shows a particular concentration of adoption, suggesting even distribution across the country.
Len originated as a diminutive of Leonard, which in turn derived from the Old High German name Leonhard, composed of the elements lewo (lion) and hard (brave, hardy). Leonard was introduced to England by the Normans and became a common medieval given name. As a standalone name, Len gained independent use in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the United States.
Sibling names for Len
Names that share Len's style, for a brother or sister.
