Ledger is an English surname that goes back to the Germanic name Leodegar, meaning "spear of the people", and today it is also the everyday word for an account book. Actor Heath Ledger, who died in 2008, gave the surname a memorable face, and it fits the current fashion for rugged surname names like Ryder and Jagger. In the United States Ledger entered the top 1000 in 2017, peaked at number 503 in 2024 and ranks number 554 among boys' names in 2025.