Leander

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “lion man.”
(lee-AN-der)

The name is from the Greek, Leandros (Λεανδρος), which is composed of the elements, leon (lion) and andros (man).

The name is found in the Byzantine romance Hero & Leander which recounts the star crossed tale of two early Greek lovers. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite who lived in a tower in the European side of the Dardanelles, while Leander lived just across the strait in Abydos. The two fell in love and Leander would swim his way across the Hellespont just to be with Hero. One night, a horrible storm struck the sea and Leander perished. In grief, Hero threw herself from the tower and died.

The name was also borne by a 6th-century Spanish bishop and saint.

Currently, Leander is the 39th most popular male name in Norway, (2010). His popularity in other countries are as follows:

• # 44 (Argentina, Leandro, 2009)
• # 149 (Germany, 2011)
• # 169 (France, Léandre, 2009)
• # 256 (France, Leandro, 2009)
• # 447 (the Netherlands, 2010)
• # 808 (United States, Leandro, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

• Leandre (Catalan)
• Leander еандер ( Dutch/English/Finnish/German/Hungarian/Polish/Russian/Scandinavian/Slovene)
• Léandre (French)
• Leandros Λεανδρος (Greek)
• Leandro (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
• Leandrosz (Hungarian)

A feminine version is Leandra, used in Greece, German-speaking countries, Spanish-speaking countries and Portuguese-speaking countries.