Leon

The name traces to the Greek leon, meaning lion, filtered through Latin and Old French. It circulated in England after the Norman Conquest and later crossed the Atlantic as an independent given name. By the late nineteenth century, American parents routinely used it as a leaner alternative to Leonard.

A Leon is currently split between a retired mechanic adjusting a lawnmower carburetor and a toddler dropping blueberries from a high chair. The name skipped the late twentieth century almost entirely, leaving 28 percent of its living bearers in the Baby Boomer generation and another 25 percent in Generation Alpha. It suggests rolled canvas, pocketknives with wooden scales, and names written on masking tape. A modern nursery with a Leon usually contains at least one wooden toy purchased strictly for display.