Leo is a given name in several languages. In European languages, it is usually a masculine given name and it comes from the Latin word leo, which in turn comes from the Greek word λέων meaning "lion". It can also be used as a short form of other names that begin with Leo-, such as Leonard, Leonardo, Leonidas or Leopold. In Japanese, Leo or Reo (怜央) is usually a masculine given name.
The name can refer to:
People
editReligious figures
edit- Pope Leo (disambiguation), 13 popes
- List of saints named Leo
- Leo of Constantinople (fl. 1134–1143), Patriarch of Constantinople
- Leo Rajendram Antony (1927–2012), 4th Bishop of Trincomalee
- Leo Baeck (1873–1956), German rabbi, scholar, and theologian
- Leo Zhedenov (1883–1959), member of the Russian apostolate
Rulers
edit- Emperor Leo (disambiguation), six Byzantine emperors
- King Leo (disambiguation), various kings and monarchs with the ruling name Leo
- Leo I, Prince of Armenia (died 1140)
Scientists
edit- Leo Esaki (born 1925), Japanese physicist and Nobel laureate
- Leo Kadanoff (1937–2015), American physicist
- Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Jewish Hungarian-American physicist
In sports
editAssociation football
edit- Leo Beenhakker (born 1942), Dutch football manager
- Leo Bosschart (1888–1951), Dutch footballer
- Leo Fortune-West (born 1971), English footballer
- Leo Krupnik (born 1979), Ukrainian-born American-Israeli former soccer player and current soccer coach
- Leo Messi (born 1987), Argentine footballer
Other sports
edit- Leo Baker (skateboarder) (born 1991), American skateboarder
- Leo Barry (born 1977), Australian rules footballer
- Leo Cantor (1919–1995), American NFL football player
- Leo Chenal (born 2000), American football player
- Leo Durocher (1905–1991), American baseball player and manager
- Leo Klein Gebbink (born 1968), Dutch field hockey player
- Leo Koloamatangi (born 1994), American football player
- Leo Komarov (born 1987), Finnish ice hockey player
- Leo Mazzone (born 1948), pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles
- Leo McCrea (born 2003), British-Swiss Paralympic swimmer
- Leo Merle (born 1998), American Paralympic athlete
- Leo Monahan (artist) (born 1933), American paper artist
- Leo Monahan (sportswriter) (1926–2013), American sports journalist
- Leo Nomellini (1924–2000), American football player in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame
- Leo Peelen (1968–2017), Dutch track cyclist
- Leo Rivas (born 1997), Venezuelan baseball player
- Leo Visser (born 1966), Dutch ice speed skater
- Leo van Vliet (born 1955), Dutch road bicycle racer
Artists and entertainers
edit- Leo Arnaud (1904–1991), French-American composer
- Leo de Berardinis (1940–2008), Italian stage actor and theatre director
- Leo de Bever (1930–2015), Dutch architect
- Leo G. Carroll (1886–1972), English actor
- Leo Chiosso (1920 - 2006), Italian lyricist
- Leo F. Forbstein (1892–1948), American film musical director and orchestra conductor
- Leo Gorcey (1917–1969), American actor
- Leo Howard (born 1997), American actor and martial artist
- Leo von König (1871–1944), German painter
- Leo Kottke (born 1945), American Finger-style Guitarist
- Leo Ku (born 1972), Hong Kong singer and actor
- Leo Rosten (1908–1997), American humorist
- Leo Saussay (born 1990), Thai actor and singer
- Leo Sayer (born 1948), British-born Australian pop musician
- Leo Tolstoy (1826–1910), Russian novelist
Politicians
edit- Leo von Caprivi (1831–1899), German general and Chancellor of Germany
- Leo Fernando (1895–1954), Sri Lankan Sinhala businessman, Member of Parliament for Buttala Electoral District
- Leo Keke (1947–2012), Nauruan politician
- Leo McAdam (born c. 1930), Canadian politician
- Leo Parskey (1915–1994), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
- Leo Ryan (1925–1978), California Congressman killed at Jonestown
- Leo Varadkar (born 1979), Irish politician and Tánaiste
Other
edit- Leo of Tripoli (died after 921/2), Greek renegade and admiral for the Abbasid Caliphate
- Leo Africanus (c. 1494 – c. 1554?), Andalusian Berber Moorish diplomat and author
- Leo Burnett (1891–1971), American advertising executive
- Leo Fender (1909–1991), American inventor, maker of electric guitars
- Leo Frank (1884–1915), American Jew murdered by a lynch mob
- Leo Jogiches (1867–1919), Russian Marxist revolutionary
- Leo Krim (2010–2012), American child killed along with his sister Lucia by their nanny
- Leo Laporte (born 1956), American technology broadcaster and author
- Leo Lee Tung-hai (1921–2010), Chairman of the Board of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals from 1970–1971, businessman and philanthropist in Hong Kong
- A. Leo Levin (1919–2015), American law professor
- Leo Loudenslager (1944–1997), American world champion aerobatics aviator
- Leo Strauss (1899–1973), American political philosopher
Fictional characters
edit- Dr. Leo Marvin, in the 1991 American comedy film What About Bob?, played by Richard Dreyfuss
- Leo Das, in the 2023 Indian action film Leo, played by Vijay
- Leo Beck, hunter in the video game Identity V
- Leo Tsukinaga, singer/songwriter from the franchise Ensemble Stars!
- Leo Corbett (Power Rangers), on the television series Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy
- Leo Demidov, protagonist of the novel Child 44
- Leo, from the manga series Pandora Hearts
- the title character of Ultraman Leo, a 1974 tokusatsu television series
- Leo Jones (Doctor Who), on the television series Doctor Who
- Leo Kliesen, a German spelunker in the Tekken series
- Leo Kovalensky, from the novel We the Living by Ayn Rand
- Leo McGarry, on the television series The West Wing
- Leo Fitz, on the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Iain De Caestecker
- Leo Ross, in the 1989 American action comedy movie Speed Zone
- Leo, a nickname for Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Leo Wong, the father of Amy Wong on the television series Futurama
- Leo Valdez, a son of Hephaestus from Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus fantasy novel series
- Leo Wagonman, one of the two main characters in the American sitcom television series George and Leo
- Leo Wyatt, on the television series Charmed
- Uncle Leo, on the television series Seinfeld
- Leo (That '70s Show), on the television series That '70s Show, played by Tommy Chong
- Leo (comics), in the Marvel universe
- Leo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's), in the manga series Yu-Gi-Oh!
- A character in the video game series Tekken
- A character in the opera Leo, the Royal Cadet
- A character in the video game Final Fantasy VI
- A character in Red Earth (video game) (aka Warzard)
- Leo, in the American animated series Little Einsteins
- Leo, in the Canadian animated series Caillou
- A character in the anime and manga series Fairy Tail, who also goes by the name of "Loke"
- A character in the video game Fire Emblem Fates
- A character in the video games WarioWare: Get It Together! and WarioWare: Move It!, as the minor antagonist
- Leo, a character in the Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger
- Leo Lieberman, daughter of David "Micro" Lieberman and Sarah Lieberman in The Punisher, portrayed by Ripley Sobo
- Leo, one of the instructors in the video game Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm and Exercise
- Leo, a nickname for Leonardo Watch from the series Kekkai Sensen