From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leon (
Ancient Greek : λέων ,
romanized : léon; leōn ) is a first name of
Greek origin, meaning "
lion ". It gave rise to similar names in other languages, including the
Latin
Leo ,
French
Lyon or Léon ,
Irish Leon ,
Spanish León or
Georgian
Levan / ლევან.
In
Greek mythology , Leon was a
giant killed by
Heracles . One of the oldest attested historical figures to bear this name was
Leon of Sparta , a 6th-century BCE king of
Sparta . During the
Christian era , the name Leon was merged with the Latin
cognate
Leo , with the result that the two forms are used interchangeably.
[1]
A similar Greek name,
Leonidas , means "son of a lion".
Leonidas I , king of Sparta, was a famous bearer of that name.
The Ancient Greek word λέων ultimately comes from
Proto-Semitic
*labiʾ- , which is not
Indo-European .
People
Leon (English, German, Dutch, Russian version), Léon (French version), León (Spanish version) may refer to:
Leon (mathematician) (fl. 400 BC), Greek mathematician, precursor of Euclid
Leon of Modena (1571–1648), Venetian scholar
Leon of Pella , Macedonian historian
Leon of Phlius (fl. c. 620 BC), tyrant of his city
Leon of Salamis (died 406 or 403 BC), Athenian politician and naval commander
Leon of Sparta , Spartan king
León Aillaud (1880–1936), Mexican politician
Leon Ashley (1936–2013), American country music singer and songwriter
Leon Bailey (born 1997), Jamaican footballer
Léon Bakst (1866–1924), Russian painter and scene- and costume designer
Leon Bates (labor leader) (1899–1972), American union leader
Leon Belasco (1902–1988), Russian-American musician and actor
Leon Benois (1856–1928), Russian architect
Leon Berkowitz (1911–1987), American abstract painter
Leon Berry (1914–1996), American organist
Leon Best (born 1986), Irish football player
Léon Bloy (1846–1917), French writer
Léon Blum (1872–1950), French politician and prime minister
Léon Boëllmann (1862–1897), French composer
Leon Bourgeois (1851–1925), French politician and prime minister
Léon Breitling (1860–1914), Swiss watchmaker and businessman, founder of
Breitling SA
Leon Brittan (1939–2015), British politician
Leon Burns (1942–1984), American football player
Leon Cadore (1891–1958), American baseball player
Leon Camier (born 1986), British motorcycle racer
Léon Chagnaud (1866–1930), French businessman and politician.
Leon Chua , a Chinese-American scientist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley
Leon Cooper (born 1930), American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
Leon Cooperman (born 1943) American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager
Leon Czolgosz (1873–1901), American anarchist, assassin of
William McKinley
Leon Dănăilă (born 1933), Romanian neurosurgeon
Léon Deffontaines (born 1996), French politician
Léon Dierx (1838–1912), French poet
Léon Dion (1922–1997), Canadian political scientist
Leon Draisaitl (born 1995), German ice hockey player
Leon Durham (born 1957), American baseball player
Leon Edel (1907–1997), American writer and literary critic
Leon Edney (born 1935), American admiral
Leon Edwards (born 1991), UFC Fighter
Léon Arthur Elchinger (1908–1998), French Catholic archbishop
León Febres Cordero (1931–2008), Ecuadorian politician and president
Leon Feldhendler (1910–1945), Polish Jewish resistance fighter
León Felipe (1884–1968), Spanish poet
Leon Fleisher (1928–2020), American pianist and conductor
Léon Foucault (1819–1868), French physicist
Leon Friedman (legal scholar) (born 1933), American legal scholar
Leon Friedman (politician) (1886 – 1948), American politician
Léon Gambetta (1838–1882), French politician and Prime Minister
Leon Garfield (1921–1996), British author
Léon Gaumont (1864–1946), French inventor and industrialist
Léon Gérin (1863–1951), Canadian lawyer
León Gieco (born 1951), Argentinian musician and interpreter
Leon Goldensohn (1911–1961), American psychiatrist and author of The Nuremberg Interviews
Leon M. Goldstein (died 1999), American president of Kingsborough Community College and acting chancellor of the City University of New York
Léon Goossens (1897–1988), British oboist
Leon Goretzka (born 1995), German professional footballer
Léon Guérin (1807-1885), French author, poet, and naval historian
Leon Haslam (born 1983), British motorcycle racer
Leon Hatziioannou (born 1965), Canadian football player
León Herrera Esteban (1922–2003), Spanish military officer and politician
Leon Jackson (born 1988), Scottish singer
Leon Quincy Jackson (1926/1927–1995), American
architect and professor
Leon Jacobs (born 1995), American football player
Leon James (footballer) (born 2001), Thai footballer
Leon Jaworski (1905–1982), American lawyer
Leon Johnson (disambiguation) , multiple people
Leon S. Kennedy (character), protagonist of horror video game series Resident Evil
León Klimovsky (1906–1996), Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer
Leon Klinghoffer (1916–1985), a Jewish-American man who was murdered
Leon Koudelak (born 1961), Czech guitarist
Leon Krier (born 1946), Luxembourg architect
Leon Lai (born 1966), Hong Kong actor and singer
Leon Lederman (1922–2018), American physicist and Nobel Prize winner
Leon Leyson (1929–2013), Polish-American Holocaust survivor and author
Léon Augustin Lhermitte (1844–1925), French painter and etcher
Leon Marchlewski (1869–1946), Polish chemist
Leon McKenzie (born 1978), British football player
Leon McQuay III (born 1994), American football player
Leon P. Miller (1899–1980), American lawyer, politician, and judge
Leon Milo (1956–2014), American musician
Leon Moser (1942–1995), American murderer
Léon Motchane (1900–1990), French industrialist and mathematician. Founder of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette
Leon Orr (born 1992), American football player
Leon Panetta (born 1938), American politician
Leon Pescheret (1892–1971), British-American designer, watercolorist, etcher, and illustrator.
Léon Pétillon (1903–1996), Belgian politician
Léon Abel Provancher (1820–1892), Canadian priest and naturalist
Leon Punch (1928–1991), Australian politician
Leon Radosevic (born 1990), Croatian basketball player
Leon Redbone (1949–2019), American singer and songwriter
Leon Robinson (born 1962), American actor and singer
Leon Rotman (born 1934), Romanian canoer
Leon Russell (1942–2016), American singer and songwriter
Léon Say (1826–1896), French economist and politician
Leon Schiller (1887–1954), Polish director and composer
Leon Schlesinger (1884-1949), American film producer
Noël Regney , born Léon Schlienger (1922–2002), French songwriter
Leon Schuster (born 1951), South African filmmaker, actor and musician
Leon Shamroy (1901–1974), American film cinematographer
Leon Simon (Zionist) (1881-1965), British intellectual and civil servant; president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Leon Sperling (1900–1941), Polish footballer
Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946), Belgian painter
Leon Spinks (1953–2021), American boxer
Leon Sullivan (1922–2001), American civil rights leader
Leon Sylvers III (born 1953), American singer, songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist
Leon Taylor (born 1977), British swimmer
Léon Teisserenc de Bort (1855–1913), French meteorologist
Léon Theremin (1896–1993), Russian inventor
Leon Thijssen (born 1968), Dutch show jumper
Leon Thomas III (born 1993), American actor
Leon Topalian , American businessman, CEO of Nucor
Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), Russian revolutionary and politician
Leon Underwood (1890–1975), British sculptor, painter and writer
Leon Uris (1924–2003), American novelist
Leon Vance (1916–1944), American aviators
Leon V of Armenia (1342–1393), King of Armenia
Léon Vaudoyer (1803–1872), French architect
Léon Walras (1834–1910), French economist
Leon Ware (1940–2017), American singer, songwriter and producer
Leon White (1955–2018), American professional wrestler, better known as Big Van Vader
Leon Wilkeson (1952–2001), American bassist, member of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd
Leon Norman Williams (1914–1999), British barrister and philatelic writer
León Zuleta (1952–1993), Colombian LGBT activist and writer
See also
References
^ Withycombe, E. G. (1945). The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names . 3rd ed. Oxford University Press.