Baby Names Leia Name Meaning By Leah Campbell facebook instagram Leah Campbell is a full-time parenting and health writer and has written extensively on the topics of infertility, adoption, and parenting. Learn about our editorial process Leah Campbell Published on May 27, 2021 Print Little Brown Rabbit Photography / Getty Images Table of Contents View All Table of Contents What Does Leia Mean? How Popular Is the Name Leia? Name Variations Similar Names Suggested Sibling Names What Does Leia Mean? The name Leia has a few different variations and meanings. In Hebrew, it means "weary," though it could also be translated as "languid, relaxed." In Hawaiian, it means "child of heaven" or "heavenly flowers." In Assyrian, it means "mistress." And in Latin, it means "lioness." Regardless of meaning, the name Leia is most often recognized because of the "Star Wars" films, in which it was the name of Princess Leia, one of the franchise's main characters. Origin: Leia originally stems from the Greek Old Testament and is another form of the biblical name Leah. Gender: Leia is most often used as a girl name. Pronunciation: LAY-a (English) Although many baby names are separated by gender, Verywell Family believes that sex does not need to play a role in your name selection process. It’s important to select a name that you feel suits your new baby the best. How Popular Is the Name Leia? Prior to 1978, the name Leia had never appeared on the list of top 1,000 baby names in the United States. But the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, and the name made its debut at number 911 the following year. Since then, the name Leia has seen a slow rise in popularity. In fact, it only appeared in the top 1,000 baby names in 1978 and 1980 before dropping off the list completely again in 2006. Since then, the name has consistently remained in the top 1,000 baby names in the United States, reaching peak popularity in 2017 when it appeared at 282 on the list. In 2020, the name came in as No. 295 most popular baby girl name in the United States, having been given to 1078 newborns that year. Name Variations There are a few different variations and spellings of the name Leia: Lea (Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German) Leah (Hebrew, English) Leja (Lithuanian) Lia (Latin, Galician, Greek, Italian) Lya (French) Similar Names Other girl names inspired by popular culture: Arya ("Game of Thrones") Lane ("Gilmore Girls") Luna ("Harry Potter") Maeby ("Arrested Development") Meadow ("The Sopranos") Millie ("Stranger Things") Piper ("Orange Is the New Black") River ("Firefly") Willow ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") Other girl names that start with ‘L’: Lacey Layla Leighton Lennyn Letty Lexi Lilah Lily Liv Lorelai Suggested Sibling Names Some names that may go well with Leia are: Christian Dashiell Emmitt Fiona Luke Pacey River Vayda Vera More Baby Names Still searching for the perfect baby name? Check out these related baby name lists for even more options: Top 1,000 Baby Girl Names in the U.S. 100 Russian Baby Names 50 Dutch Baby Names Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Social Security Administration. Popularity of the Name Leia. Updated 2020.