Leo (given name)

Leo is a given name in several languages. In European languages, it is usually a masculine given name and it comes from the Latin word leo, which in turn comes from the Greek word λέων meaning "lion". It can also be used as a short form of other names that begin with Leo-, such as Leonard, Leonardo, Leonidas or Leopold, and occasionally Llywellyn. In Japanese, Leo or Reo (怜央) is usually a masculine given name.

The name can refer to:

People

Religious figures

• Pope Leo, 14 popes
  • Pope Leo XIV (born 1955), incumbent pope
• List of saints named Leo
• Leo of Constantinople (fl. 1134–1143), Patriarch of Constantinople
• Leo Rajendram Antony (1927–2012), 4th Bishop of Trincomalee
• Leo Baeck (1873–1956), German rabbi, scholar, and theologian
• Leo Zhedenov (1883–1959), member of the Russian apostolate

Rulers

• Emperor Leo, six (or seven) Byzantine emperors
• King Leo, five Armenian kings
• Leo I, Prince of Armenia (died 1140)

Scientists

• Leo Esaki (born 1925), Japanese physicist and Nobel laureate
• Leo Kadanoff (1937–2015), American physicist
• Leo Stodolsky, physicist
• Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Jewish Hungarian-American physicist

In sports

Association football

• Leo Andersson (born 2004), Finnish footballer
• Leo Beenhakker (1942–2025), Dutch football manager
• Leo Bosschart (1888–1951), Dutch footballer
• Leo Fortune-West (born 1971), English footballer
• Leo Krupnik (born 1979), Ukrainian-born American-Israeli former soccer player and current soccer coach
• Leo Kyllönen (born 2004), Finnish footballer
• Leo Messi (born 1987), Argentine footballer
• Leo Walta (born 2003), Finnish footballer

Other sports

• Leo Baker (skateboarder) (born 1991), American skateboarder
• Leo Barry (born 1977), Australian rules footballer
• Leo Cantor (1919–1995), American NFL football player
• Leo Chenal (born 2000), American football player
• Leo Durocher (1905–1991), American baseball player and manager
• Leo Franciosi (born 1932), Sammarinese sports shooter
• Leo Hilokoski (born 1941), Finnish bowler
• Leo Klein Gebbink (born 1968), Dutch field hockey player
• Leo Koloamatangi (born 1994), American football player
• Leo Komarov (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey player
• Leo Mazzone (born 1948), pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles
• Leo McCrea (born 2003), British-Swiss Paralympic swimmer
• Leo Merle (born 1998), American Paralympic athlete
• Leo Monahan (sportswriter) (1926–2013), American sports journalist
• Leo Nomellini (1924–2000), American football player in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame
• Leo Peelen (1968–2017), Dutch track cyclist
• Leo Prantner (born 2001), Italian handball player
• Leo Rivas (born 1997), Venezuelan baseball player
• Leo Visser (born 1966), Dutch ice speed skater
• Leo van Vliet (born 1955), Dutch road bicycle racer

Artists and entertainers

• Leo Arnaud (1904–1991), French-American composer
• Leo de Berardinis (1940–2008), Italian stage actor and theatre director
• Leo de Bever (1930–2015), Dutch architect
• Leo G. Carroll (1886–1972), English actor
• Leo Chiosso (1920 - 2006), Italian lyricist
• Leo F. Forbstein (1892–1948), American film musical director and orchestra conductor
• Leo Gorcey (1917–1969), American actor
• Leo Howard (born 1997), American actor and martial artist
• Leo von König (1871–1944), German painter
• Leo Kottke (born 1945), American finger-style guitarist
• Leo Ku (born 1972), Hong Kong singer and actor
• Leo Monahan (artist) (born 1933), American paper artist
• Leo Rosten (1908–1997), American humorist
• Leo Saussay (born 1990), Thai actor and singer
• Leo Sayer (born 1948), British-born Australian pop musician
• Leo Tolstoy (1826–1910), Russian novelist

Politicians

• Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899), German general and Chancellor of Germany
• Leo Fernando (1895–1954), Sri Lankan Sinhala businessman, Member of Parliament for Buttala Electoral District
• Leo Keke (1947–2012), Nauruan politician
• Leo McAdam (1930–2024), Canadian politician
• Leo Parskey (1915–1994), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
• Leo Ryan (1925–1978), California Congressman killed at Jonestown
• Leo Varadkar (born 1979), Irish politician and Tánaiste

Other

• Leo of Tripoli (died after 921/2), Greek renegade and admiral for the Abbasid Caliphate
• Leo Africanus (c. 1494 – c. 1554?), Andalusian Berber Moorish diplomat and author
• Leo Burnett (1891–1971), American advertising executive
• Leo Fender (1909–1991), American inventor, maker of electric guitars
• Leo Frank (1884–1915), American Jew murdered by a lynch mob
• Leo Jogiches (1867–1919), Russian Marxist revolutionary
• Leo Krim (2010–2012), American child killed along with his sister Lucia by their nanny
• Leo Laporte (born 1956), American technology broadcaster and author
• Leo Lee Tung-hai (1921–2010), Chairman of the Board of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals from 1970–1971, businessman and philanthropist in Hong Kong
• A. Leo Levin (1919–2015), American law professor
• Leo Loudenslager (1944–1997), American world champion aerobatics aviator
• Leo Schuster (1791-1871), German-born British cotton-trader and merchant banker
• Leo Strauss (1899–1973), American political philosopher

Fictional characters

• Dr. Leo Marvin, in the 1991 American comedy film What About Bob?, played by Richard Dreyfuss
• Leo Das, in the 2023 Indian action film Leo, played by Vijay
• Leo Beck, hunter in the video game Identity V
• Leo Tsukinaga, singer/songwriter from the franchise Ensemble Stars!
• Leo Corbett (Power Rangers), on the television series Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy
• Leo Demidov, protagonist of the novel Child 44
• Leo Demonheart, the main character and protagonist in the anime and I'm Quitting Heroing
• Leo, from the manga series Pandora Hearts
• the title character of Ultraman Leo, a 1974 tokusatsu television series
• Leo Jones (Doctor Who), on the television series Doctor Who
• Leo Kliesen, a German spelunker in the Tekken series
• Leo Kovalensky, from the novel We the Living by Ayn Rand
• Leo McGarry, on the television series The West Wing
• Leo Fitz, on the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Iain De Caestecker
• Leo Ross, in the 1989 American action comedy movie Speed Zone
• Leo, a nickname for Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Leo Wong, the father of Amy Wong on the television series Futurama
• Leo Valdez, a son of Hephaestus from Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus fantasy novel series
• Leo Wagonman, one of the two main characters in the American sitcom television series George and Leo
• Leo Wyatt, on the television series Charmed
• Uncle Leo, on the television series Seinfeld
• Leo (That '70s Show), on the television series That '70s Show, played by Tommy Chong
• Leo (comics), in the Marvel universe
• Leo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's), in the manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!
• A character in the video game series Tekken
• A character in the opera Leo, the Royal Cadet
• A character in the video game Final Fantasy VI
• A character in Red Earth (aka Warzard)
• Leo, in the American animated series Little Einsteins
• Leo, in the Canadian animated series Caillou
• A character in the anime and manga series Fairy Tail, who also goes by the name of "Loke"
• A character in the video game Fire Emblem Fates
• A character in the video games WarioWare: Get It Together! and WarioWare: Move It!, as the minor antagonist
• Leo, a character in the Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger
• Leo Lieberman, daughter of David "Micro" Lieberman and Sarah Lieberman in The Punisher, portrayed by Ripley Sobo
• Leo, one of the instructors in the video game Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm and Exercise
• Leo, a nickname for Leonardo Watch from the series Kekkai Sensen
• Leo Demonheart a character in the anime I'm Quitting Heroing

See also

• Léo
• Leo (surname)
• Leon (given name)