Leo (given name)

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 turns 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, or Leopold. In Japanese, Leo or Reo (怜央) is usually a masculine given name.

The name can refer to:

Religious figures

 * 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

 * 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

 * Leo Esaki (born 1925), Japanese physicist and Nobel laureate
 * Leo Kadanoff (1937–2015), American physicist
 * Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Jewish Hungarian-American physicist

Association football

 * 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

 * 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 Monahan (journalist) (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

 * 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

 * 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 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

 * Leo of Tripoli (died after 921/2), Greek renegade and admiral for the Abbasid Caliphate
 * Leo Africanus (c. 1494?), 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

 * 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
 * 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