English

Proper noun

Leonard

1. A male given name.
   • 1844 Catherine Gore, The Birthright and Other Tales, Henry Colburn 1844, page 251:

     - - - save the delight of being called "Leo" by those whom the newspapers call "the leading fashionables", whereas, had he stuck to the city , he might still have been called only Leonard, like his father before him.

   • 1997 Don DeLillo, Underworld, Simon&Schuster 1998, ISBN 0684848155, page 592:

     "You want names, I'll give you names. My name is Leonard Alfred Schneider. What was I doing when I took the name Lenny Bruce? I was moving towards the invisible middle.

2. A surname​ derived from the given name. Also used as an anglicisation of the Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).

Usage notes

• The given name has been in quiet continuous use since the Middle Ages. A popularity peak occurred during the first half of the 20th century.

Related terms

• (diminutives) Len, Lenny, Leo, Leon

Translations

Slovak

Proper noun

Leonard m

1. A male given name.