The Leon surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 86,363 people carried this name — #363 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,420 people counted. That is up 39% from 62,034 in 2000.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 26,288 people named Leon live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 4,793 people named Leon.
368 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 100 départements, most often Finistère.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
410 people named Leon live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 204 people named Leon live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Namur.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
39 people named Leon have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 107 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lubusz.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
173 people named Leon is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Leon in American newspapers,
1851–1908.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,028,686 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Leon,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Judah Leon Templo 1602–1675 · rabbi -
Radu Leon 1650–1669 · ruler -
Francis Leon 1844–1883 · singer -
Herbert Leon 1850–1926 · politician -
Nicolae Leon 1862–1931 · biologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 190 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Leon.
- Lentz 15,126 · U.S. census
- Leny 103 · U.S. census
- Lenz 11,191 · U.S. census
- Lenzi 1,232 · U.S. census
- Lenzini 183 · U.S. census
- Leo 8,039 · U.S. census
- Leonard 91,475 · U.S. census
- Leonardi 1,834 · U.S. census
- Leonardo 6,007 · U.S. census
- Leonce 233 · U.S. census
- Leoncini 118 · U.S. census
- Leone 15,364 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Leon is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.