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The short answer
Leah is a feminine name from the Hebrew לֵאָה (Leʾa), which Behind the Name says was probably derived from לָאָה (laʾa), "weary, grieved", and may alternatively be related to Akkadian littu, "cow". In the Old Testament Leah is Jacob's first wife and the mother of seven of his children; her younger sister Rachel was the wife he preferred. Behind the Name notes that although Jews used the name in the Middle Ages, it was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, when it became common among the Puritans. In 2025 Leah ranked #58 for girls in the United States.
Meaning and etymology
Behind the Name gives two possibilities and marks the first as probable: Leah comes "from the Hebrew name לֵאָה (Leʾa), which was probably derived from the Hebrew word לָאָה (laʾa) meaning 'weary, grieved'", and "alternatively it might be related to Akkadian littu meaning 'cow'". Wikipedia reports the same pair with different emphasis: it gives the traditional meanings as "delicate" or "weary", and calls the name "presumably cognate with Akkadian littu, meaning 'wild cow'". The sources agree on the two candidate roots and differ on which to foreground and on how to translate littu; "delicate" appears only in Wikipedia and is not in Behind the Name.
Editorial confidence: likely
Linguistic roots
| Language | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hebrew | לֵאָה (Leʾa) | the name itself |
| Hebrew | לָאָה (laʾa) | weary, grieved |
| Akkadian | littu | cow (Behind the Name); wild cow (Wikipedia) |
Competing or overlapping origins
- Behind the Name's preferred reading: from Hebrew laʾa, "weary, grieved".
- The alternative both sources record: a connection to Akkadian littu, glossed "cow" by Behind the Name and "wild cow" by Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia also gives "delicate" among the name's traditional meanings; Behind the Name does not, and no derivation for that gloss is offered in either source.
- Wikipedia separately notes that the spelling leah matches the Old English word léah, "meadow", which is frequent in Anglo-Saxon place names. That is a homograph in a different language, not a proposed origin of the given name.
History of the name
Leah's history begins in the Old Testament, where, as Behind the Name summarises, she is the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children; Jacob's other wife was her younger sister Rachel, whom he preferred, and Leah later offered him her handmaid Zilpah so that he could have more children. Behind the Name records that the name was used by Jews in the Middle Ages but was not typical as an English Christian name until after the Protestant Reformation, when it became common among the Puritans — the same route by which several other Old Testament names entered English use. Wikipedia lists a wide range of modern bearers across politics, law, sport and the arts, and records international forms including Lea, Léa, Leia and Lia.
| Period | What changed |
|---|---|
| Old Testament | Leah is Jacob's first wife and mother of seven of his children; her sister Rachel is Jacob's preferred wife (Behind the Name). |
| Middle Ages | The name is used by Jews but is not typical as an English Christian name (Behind the Name). |
| After the Protestant Reformation | Leah becomes common among the Puritans and enters general English use (Behind the Name). |
| Modern era | The name is used across Europe and beyond in the forms Lea, Léa, Lia, Leia and others (Behind the Name; Wikipedia). |
| 2025 | Leah ranks #58 among American girls' names (SSA). |
Popularity
Leah ranked #58 for girls in the United States in 2025 (Social Security Administration). Neither Behind the Name nor Wikipedia supplies a longer ranking history for the name, so no trend is claimed here beyond Behind the Name's observation that English use began in earnest after the Protestant Reformation.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (girls) | 2025 | #58 | ssa-2025 |
United States, 2025: #58 (Social Security Administration)
Pronunciation around the world
Behind the Name gives two pronunciations for this spelling: English /ˈliː.ə/ and Hebrew /le.ˈʔa/. The other entries are the local forms listed under "Other Languages & Cultures"; their pronunciations were not verified in this pass.
| Language or region | Pronunciation | Local forms |
|---|---|---|
| English | /ˈliː.ə/ — LEE-ə | Leah |
| Hebrew | /le.ˈʔa/ | Leah, Lea |
| French | not verified in this pass | Léa, Lya |
| German | not verified in this pass | Lea |
| Italian | not verified in this pass | Lia, Lea |
| Spanish | not verified in this pass | Lía, Lea |
| Portuguese | not verified in this pass | Leia, Lia |
| Dutch | not verified in this pass | Lea |
| Czech | not verified in this pass | Lea |
| Slovene | not verified in this pass | Lea, Leja, Lija |
| Lithuanian | not verified in this pass | Lėja |
| Russian / Ukrainian | not verified in this pass | Liya |
Nicknames, variants, and related names
Nicknames: None documented.
Variants: Lea, Léa, Lia, Leia, Lía, Lėja
Related names: Rachel, Zilpah, Jacob
What the name feels like
Leah is short, soft and unfussy — two open syllables, no consonant cluster, no obvious nickname — which is part of why it has stayed steadily common rather than spiking. It sits in the group of Old Testament names that read as timeless rather than pious, alongside Hannah, Naomi, Sarah and Rachel, and it crosses languages easily in the Lea and Léa spellings. Parents who like it are usually after something familiar and quiet rather than ornamental.
Style tags: biblical, short and soft, timeless, international, top 100
Editorial interpretation: The register described here is editorial opinion. The contested part of this name is factual and handled above: the "weary" and "cow" readings both come from the sources, and neither is certain.
People and stories associated with the name
The name's principal story is biblical. Only figures named in the sources consulted for this profile are listed; Wikipedia's long roll of modern bearers was not mined.
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Leah (Old Testament) | historical | Jacob's first wife and the mother of seven of his children; sister of Rachel, whom Jacob preferred, and mistress of the handmaid Zilpah. |
| Rachel | historical | Leah's younger sister and Jacob's preferred wife; the counterpart figure in the same narrative. |
| Leah Isadora Behn | contemporary | Daughter of a Norwegian princess, listed by Wikipedia among the name's royal bearers. |
If you like this name
Names close to Leah in biblical register, in sound, or in family.
Similar by origin
Similar by sound
Similar by style
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Leah mean?
Behind the Name says Leah probably comes from the Hebrew word laʾa, "weary, grieved", and may alternatively be related to Akkadian littu, "cow". Wikipedia gives the traditional meanings as "delicate" or "weary" and calls the name presumably cognate with littu, "wild cow".
Who was Leah in the Bible?
In the Old Testament, Leah is the first wife of Jacob and the mother of seven of his children. Her younger sister Rachel was the wife Jacob preferred; Leah later gave Jacob her handmaid Zilpah so he could have more children.
Is Leah a popular name?
Yes. Leah ranked #58 among American girls' names in 2025.
How do you pronounce Leah?
In English, LEE-ə (IPA /ˈliː.ə/). Behind the Name gives the Hebrew pronunciation as /le.ˈʔa/.
Is Lea the same name as Leah?
Yes. Behind the Name lists Lea as the Hebrew variant and records Lea, Léa, Lia, Leia and Lėja as the name's forms in other languages.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Leah — supports etymology, Akkadian alternative, Old Testament narrative, post-Reformation English use, pronunciations, variants and foreign forms.
- Wikipedia: Leah (given name) — supports traditional meanings 'delicate' and 'weary', Akkadian littu 'wild cow', Old English léah homograph, international variants, notable bearers.
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity.
