Leonardo is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard and comes from the Germanic words lewo, lion, and hart, strong, so it means "brave lion" or "strong as a lion". Leonardo da Vinci gave the name its Renaissance glow, and actor Leonardo DiCaprio brought it to American screens. Leonardo climbed from number 253 in 2000 into the top 100 in 2016, peaked at number 75 in 2022 and ranks number 91 in 2025.