Lee
Pronounced L IY1 (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1951
- 145 years in use
- 3 spellings
How popular is Lee?
Lee is a name given to both boys and girls, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 375,412 children — the 163rd most common boys' name on record.
Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1951, when 3,773 children were given it.
Three other spellings are counted in that total — Leigh, Lea and Li — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 36% of children named Lee are girls, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Lee and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Leigh
- Lea
- Li
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- L IY1
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Lee
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Lee
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Lee?
- Lee ranks 163rd among boys' names in US records, with 375,412 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 3,663.
- Is Lee a unisex name?
- Yes. About 36% of children given the name are girls, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Lee most popular?
- 1951, when 3,773 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Lee spelled?
- Leigh, Lea, Li. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.