Although Lee is often considered a gender-neutral name, the alternate spelling of Leigh has often been used for girls. Lee is also popular as a middle name, showing up in girl names like Annabel Lee, Bobby Lee, Jamie Lee, and others.
How Popular is the Name Lee?
The name Lee appears in the Social Security Administration’s list of the top 1,000 names for baby boys as No. 30 in 1900. It has never ranked as high again but remained in the top 100 for the next 55 years. Lee’s popularity endured through the 1980s but it eventually started to wane. Between 1990 and 2000, it dropped over 250 spots in the rankings. After that, the name continued to fall out of favor. The latest data from 2020 shows that it is ranked as No. 768, the least popular it has ever been. As a girl name, Lee ranked as No. 278 most popular name for baby girls in the United States in 1900. It peaked in 1955 as a girl name when it was ranked as No. 182. The name then hovered around that range on the list until the 1970’s when it started to steadily decrease in popularity. By 1991, it had completely fallen off the top 1,000 names for baby girls.
Similar Names
Similar sounding names to Lee:
AshleyBentleyBradleyHadleyHuxleyLeahLeighLenaLiaLilyRileyStanleyWesley
Other Old English names:
BancroftBenedictCliffordDunstanEltonFarleyGraysonLeightonMarlow
Other names that start with L:
LandonLeoLeonardoLeroyLeviLewisLiamLloydLoganLucaLuisLuke
Suggested Sibling Names
Looking for a sibling name for Lee? Here are some popular options:
Jean JordanKyleLindsayLynneRobin Sam ShannonTaylor
Famous People Named Lee
As a popular name throughout the last century, history would record not only famous people named Lee, but also some infamous ones as well. One of the most infamous was Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who assassinated United States president John F. Kennedy in 1963. Lee is also one of the most enduring and recognized brands of denim jeans in the United States. The company was formed by Henry David Lee in the late 1880’s producing dungarees and jackets and eventually denim jeans as we know them today. The company rebranded into the iconic Lee brand which remains recognizable worldwide.
Famous Lees:
Lee Child, a British authorLee DeWyze, an American singer and the winner of talent show “American Idol” Lee Grant, an Academy Award-winning American actress and directorLee Greenwood, an American country music singerLee Iacocca, an American automobile executive who developed the Ford Mustang and Ford Pinto carsLee Janzen, an American professional golferLenore “Lee” Krasner, an American abstract expressionist painterLee Pace, an American actorLee Wiley, an American jazz singer
Fictional Lees
Lee Adama, the principal character in the television series “Battlestar Galactica”Lee Jordan, a wizard character in the “Harry Potter” seriesLee McDermott, a character in the TV series “Desperate Housewives”
Top 1,000 Baby Boy Names in the U.S. Top 1,000 Baby Girl Names in the U.S. 50 English Baby Names
