Leonard is a common English surname and a masculine given name.
The given name and surname originate from the Old High German Leonhard containing the prefix levon ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin Leo, and the suffix hardu ("brave" or "hardy"). The name has come to mean "lion strength", "lion-strong", or "lion-hearted". Leonard was the name of a Saint in the Middle Ages period, known as the patron saint of prisoners.
Leonard is also an Irish origin surname, from the Gaelic O'Leannain also found as O'Leonard, but often was anglicised to just Leonard, consisting of the prefix O ("descendant of") and the suffix Leannan ("lover"). The oldest public records of the surname appear in 1272 in Huntingdonshire, England, and in 1479 in Ulm, Germany.
Contents
Variations
The name has variants in other languages:
Anard/Nardu/Lewnardu/Leunardu (Maltese)
Leen, Leendert, Lenard (Dutch)
Lehnertz, Lehnert (Luxembourgish)
Len (English)
Lénárd (Hungarian)
Lenart (disambiguation) (Slovene)
Linhart (Czech)
Lennard, diminutive forms Lenny
Lennart (Swedish, Estonian, Dutch)
Lennert (German, Dutch)
Lev (Ukrainian)
Lenni (Finnish)
Lenno (Groningen)
Lenny (English)
Leo (many languages)
Leon (English, German, Dutch, Russian, Polish)
Léon (French), León (Spanish)
Léonard ([leɔnaʁ]; French)
Leonard = "Renata" in Māori, Waitaha
Leonardo (Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese)
Leonardus (Dutch)
Leonhard, Leonhardt (German)
Leontxo (Basque)
In other languages
Armenian: Լեոնարդ (Leonard)
Croatian: Leonard
Czech: Leonard
French: Léonard
Georgian: ლეონარდ (Leonard)
German: Leonard, Leonhard, Leonhardt, Lennart
Greek: Λεονάρδος (Leonárdos)
Hebrew: לֵב־אֲרִי (Lév-Ari)
Hungarian: Lénárd, Leonárd
Indonesian: Leonardo, Leonard, Leonardus, Lenno, Leo, Leon, Lenny
Italian: Leonardo
Latvian: Linards
Lithuanian: Leonardas
Māori: Renātā
Maltese: Nardu
Polish: Leonard
Portuguese: Leonardo
Romanian: Leonard
Russian: Леонард (Leonard)
Serbian: Леонард (Leonard)
Spanish: Leonardo
Swedish: Lennart
Yiddish: לעאָנאַרד (Leonard)
Ukrainian: Лев (Lev)
Given name
Leonard Adleman (born 1945), American computer scientist
Léonard Autié (1751–1820), French hairdresser
Leonard Baskin (1922–2000), American artist
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), American conductor and composer
Leonard Burton (born 1964), American football player
Leonard of Chios (died 1458), Catholic archbishop
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), Canadian singer-songwriter
Leonard Cheshire (1917–1992), British philanthropist
Leonard Decof (1924-2010), American lawyer
Leonard Doroftei (born 1970), Romanian boxer
Leonard Eilers (1898–1996), American storyteller, actor
Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Swiss mathematician
Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170 – after 1240), Italian mathematician
Leonard Fairley (born 1951), American football player
Leonard Fournette (born 1995), American football player
Leonhard Fuchs (1501–1566), German physician and natural historian
Leonard Hackney (1855–1938), Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
Surname
A–F
Ada Leonard (1915–1997), American bandleader
Adam Leonard (singer-songwriter) (born 1969), English singer-songwriter
Adna Wright Leonard (1874–1943), Methodist Bishop of Buffalo NY
André-Joseph Léonard (born 1940), Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
Andrew Leonard, American technology journalist
Andy Leonard (1846–1903), baseball
Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; "The Ghetto Wizard", 1896–1947), American world champion Hall of Fame lightweight boxer
Bill Leonard (politician) (born 1947), American politician
Bobby Leonard (1932–2021), American basketball coach
Brad Leonard (born 1979), New Zealand cricketer
Brendon Leonard (born 1985), rugby union
Brian Leonard (born 1984), American football
Buck Leonard (1907–1997), baseball
Cecil Leonard (1946–2020), American football
Charles H. Leonard (1822–1918), American Universalist minister, theologian, and academic
Chuck Leonard (1937–2004), radio
Conrad Leonard (1898–2003), pianist
G–L
Gary Leonard (born 1967), basketball
George Leonard (1923–2010), American author
Glenn Leonard (born 1947), American musician
Gloria Leonard (1940–2014), actress
Graham Leonard (1921–2010), Anglican Bishop converted to Catholicism
Gustav Leonhardt (1928–2012), Dutch musician, conductor, musicologist
Harlan Leonard (1905–1983), American jazz musician
Harry Ward Leonard (1861–1915), American inventor
Herbert Léonard (1945–2025), French singer, entertainer and historian
Herbert B. Leonard (1922–2006), American producer and writer
Herman Leonard (1923–2010), photographer
Hookey Leonard, Scottish professional footballer
Hubert Léonard (1819–1890), Belgian violinist
Hugh Leonard (1926–2009), Irish playwright
Isabel Leonard (born 1982), American operatic mezzo-soprano
J. Paul Leonard (1901–1995), American university president, educator
J. Rich Leonard, American judge
Jack E. Leonard (1910–1973), comedian
M–Z
Manon Léonard (born 2001), French tennis player
Margaret Burr Leonard (1942–2022), American civil rights activist and journalist
Marion Leonard (1881–1956), actress
Mark Leonard (footballer) (born 1962), association football
Marshall Leonard (born 1980), soccer player
Matthew Leonard (1929–1967), Medal of Honor recipient
Meyers Leonard (born 1992), American basketball player
Michael Leonard (disambiguation), several people
Minnetta Sammis Leonard (1879 – 1960), American educator
Miriam Leonard (born 1977), British professor of Greek literature
Nelson J. Leonard (1916–2006), American organic and bioorganic chemist
Patricia Leonard (1936–2010), English opera singer
Patrick James Leonard (1847–1899), Medal of Honor recipient
Patrick Leonard (born 1956), American songwriter
Patrick Thomas Leonard (1828–1905), Indian Wars Medal of Honor recipient
Paul Leonard (politician) (born 1943), American politician
Paul Leonard (writer), UK author
Fictional characters
Anatole Leonard, in the Robotech series
Leonard (demon), in the Dictionnaire Infernal
Léonard, title character in the Belgian comic of the same name
Leonard W. "Lennie" Briscoe, a detective in Law & Order
Private Leonard Church, from Red vs. Blue
Leonard Hofstadter, in The Big Bang Theory
Leonard von Lahnstein, character from German soap opera Forbidden Love
Lenny Leonard, in The Simpsons
Lockie Leonard, in children's novels by Tim Winton
Leonard McCoy, in the Star Trek series
Leonard Shelby, main character in the movie Memento
Lennie Small, in the novel Of Mice and Men
Leonard Snart, Captain Cold from The Flash comics and TV series
