Leu Surname

22,597th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 24,043 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Romania
Highest density in:
Switzerland

Leu Surname User-submission:

(Romanian, Swiss, German) The Leu surname means 'one who represented a lion'. It derives from the Middle High German word leu, meaning 'lion', a dialect used to be commonly found in Switzerland and southern Germany. It could also derive from the Romanian word leu, meaning the same.

Read More About This Surname

Leu Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Romania3,8571:5,206700
Switzerland3,6441:2,254242
United States3,2541:111,38912,107
Indonesia2,7931:47,3505,339
Vietnam2,5781:35,937485
Germany1,5041:53,5286,957
Moldova1,4891:2,392304
DR Congo8891:83,1049,543
France7191:92,38213,372
Malaysia7171:41,1363,328
Lesotho2911:6,9851,495
Russia2241:643,40655,877
Australia2171:124,40413,629
South Africa1771:306,08929,333
Canada1661:221,96121,363
Brazil1481:1,446,44848,665
Taiwan971:241,6982,016
Ivory Coast911:253,53010,036
China861:15,899,088929
Spain691:677,56630,057
Papua New Guinea671:121,69716,585
Ukraine621:734,23775,898
Argentina581:736,95549,943
French Polynesia551:5,1061,145
Dominican Republic541:193,2027,170
Peru531:599,70015,316
Thailand481:1,471,632200,579
New Caledonia471:5,8771,249
England441:1,266,32057,817
Serbia441:162,38510,827
Austria421:202,74825,305
Mexico401:3,103,15523,265
Angola361:749,7002,649
Transnistria341:13,9622,679
Solomon Islands331:17,5773,381
Sweden311:317,63722,171
Italy271:2,265,06392,103
Denmark201:282,23621,168
Israel181:475,42436,085
Poland171:2,235,809104,965
Venezuela151:2,013,60524,362
Kazakhstan131:1,360,19271,840
Singapore131:423,66918,211
Trinidad and Tobago121:113,6657,200
Philippines91:11,248,691221,039
Mozambique91:3,029,0632,946
Norway81:642,78647,258
Hungary81:1,227,03553,030
Nigeria81:22,142,845310,552
Hong Kong61:1,222,5805,222
Panama61:652,04310,051
Liechtenstein51:7,6761,080
India51:153,413,076951,030
Cambodia51:3,097,4298,690
Morocco41:8,619,02573,251
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Botswana41:546,73222,624
Netherlands41:4,221,794131,139
Sudan41:9,377,5498,207
Guatemala41:4,020,6677,726
Guyana41:190,5559,777
Japan41:31,961,07353,820
Belarus41:2,375,265105,497
Belgium31:3,832,215117,288
Pakistan21:89,321,942157,560
New Zealand21:2,264,16249,210
Algeria21:19,315,77697,017
Greece21:5,539,895129,142
Mauritius21:646,70813,517
Scotland21:2,676,90851,579
Macau21:300,8151,009
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
Ireland21:2,354,47019,715
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Swaziland11:1,298,1991,718
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
American Samoa11:55,7583,072
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Mali11:16,969,0354,067
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Laos11:6,588,3231,961
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England111:2,215,94364,354
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1611:311,91724,534

The alternate forms: Léü (1) are calculated separately.

Leu (1,579) may also be a first name.

Leu Surname Meaning

User-submitted Reference

(Romanian, Swiss, German) The Leu surname means 'one who represented a lion'. It derives from the Middle High German word leu, meaning 'lion', a dialect used to be commonly found in Switzerland and southern Germany. It could also derive from the Romanian word leu, meaning the same.

(Vietnamese) Unknown. Possibly a variation of lieu 'willow tree'.

- deleted-173293

Leu Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Leu Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Leu (Marathi: लेऊ, Oriya: େଲଉ, Russian: Леу) occurs in Romania more than any other country or territory. It may be found as: Léü. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Leu? popularity and diffusion

The last name Leu is the 22,597th most prevalent family name on a global scale, held by approximately 1 in 303,105 people. Leu is predominantly found in Europe, where 49 percent of Leu are found; 26 percent are found in Southeast Asia and 22 percent are found in Romanian Europe. It is also the 194,673rd most widely held first name throughout the world. It is borne by 1,579 people.

The surname is most commonly held in Romania, where it is carried by 3,857 people, or 1 in 5,206. In Romania it is primarily concentrated in: Brăila County, where 22 percent are found, Buzău County, where 18 percent are found and Bucharest Municipality, where 10 percent are found. Excluding Romania it exists in 94 countries. It is also common in Switzerland, where 15 percent are found and The United States, where 14 percent are found.

Leu Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Leu has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Leu surname increased 2,021 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it increased 400 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Leu Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the last name is chiefly Orthodox (88%) in Russia.

In The United States Leu are 10.37% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 57.14% being registered with the political party.

The amount Leu earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 29.57% less than the national average, earning 243,760 kr per year; in Peru they earn 9.91% less than the national average, earning S/. 17,464 per year; in South Africa they earn 37.26% less than the national average, earning R 149,088 per year; in Vietnam they earn 14.29% more than the national average, earning 94,223,600 ₫ per year; in United States they earn 16.02% more than the national average, earning $50,063 USD per year and in Canada they earn 27.59% more than the national average, earning $63,389 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Leus866,872/
Leua862,650/
Leue862,107/
Leux86309/
Leuh86243/
Leuz86197/
Leyu86116/
Leui8692/
Lleu8688/
Leut8677/
Leiu8660/
Leuy8631/
Leud8625/
Leup864/
Lheu863/
Leuo862/
Hleu861/
Leué861/
Leuś861/
Lu8021,328,039/
Le807,542,572/
Léü781/
Leuch75623/
Leush75592/
Leupp75539/
Lehuy75366/
Leheu75189/
Laheu7599/
Leusz7596/
Leius7588/
Leuță7554/
Leucz7549/
Leyou7538/
Leiau7533/
Leuha7527/
Leyau7518/
Leuii7515/
Leuah7515/
Leuaa7512/
Leuai7512/
Leihu7510/
Loheu7510/
Loeuy759/
Leauh757/
Leuea756/
Glieu754/
Leuss753/
Lehui753/
Leuhu753/
Leyut753/
Leyus752/
Leuph752/
Leust752/
L'Leu752/
Leuhi752/
Leiuh752/
Leuui752/
Lleau751/
Lleus751/
Leutt751/
Lheux751/
Leueh751/
Leuiy751/
Leiux751/
Leauy751/
Leuts751/
Leuee751/
Lleuz751/
Leuoh751/
Leeuu751/
Leyup751/
Hleup751/
Leuhe750/
Leuht750/
Liu6774,139,464/
Luo6714,714,385/
Lei673,739,001/
Lee672,280,266/
Lou67845,855/
Lau67509,986/
Luu67480,317/
Let67158,562/
Lui6799,152/
Lux6750,036/
Lie6750,006/
Lea6747,342/
Ley6727,224/
Luz6723,989/
Luy6717,104/
Lyu6713,749/
Lye6713,181/
Loe6711,155/
Les6710,374/
Lue678,902/
Lut678,676/
Leh678,408/
Lae676,071/
Lup675,250/
Ler673,129/
Luh672,177/
Led672,153/
Lus671,941/
Lep671,560/
Leucht671,254/
Lle671,066/
Leusch671,024/
Llu67485/
Lud67462/
Hle67389/
Luş67328/
Lez67308/
Lej67274/
Loyeau67182/
Leß67160/
Løe67139/
Leş67106/
Leș67101/
Leț6744/
Lge6729/
Luj6724/
Hlu6718/
Leudts6717/
Leś6717/
Leault6715/
Leţ6714/
Lhe6713/
Luš6712/
Lje6712/
Leehou6710/
Åle6710/
Lưu679/
Lhu678/
Lgu677/
Leč677/
Leeoux675/
Lée675/
L'Heux674/
Luň674/
Luț673/
Lùe672/
Lúe672/
Luá672/
Luí672/
Loieau672/
Löe672/
Leyouh671/
Leyout671/
Leuová671/
Leaush671/
Leautt671/
Lejaut671/
Lêe671/
Leį671/
Luý671/
Lejaud671/
Luî671/
Luș671/
Leauth671/
L'E671/
Leuaai671/
Leí671/
Leï671/
Leň671/
Leuhey670/

Leu Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Leu in the Oriya language
େଲଉela'u-
Leu in the Marathi language
लेऊle'u-
Leu in the Russian language
Леуleu-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Leu
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis