Leighton

Did you know?

A few things about Leighton you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Leighton

Leighton Baines

English association football player (born 1984)

Choose Leighton and your child shares a first name with Leighton Baines, an English association football player. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Leighton, like who?” Leighton Baines's Wikipedia article is available in 63 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Leighton Baines on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Александр Осипов, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,802 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Leighton, 892 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Leighton would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLeighton first shows up in US birth records in 1893, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 132 years since.
• 🏆Best yearLeighton is at its all-time high right now: #342 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowLeighton is 27× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 49,020 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 1,802.
• 🚀TrendLeighton has climbed 59 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #342. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedLeighton is most popular in Nebraska, where it ranks #105, followed by Oklahoma (#121) and Montana (#122). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• ⚖️Boy or girlLeighton is given to both boys and girls: 81% of the 1,099 babies named Leighton in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Old English, Leighton means “meadow town”.

About the name Leighton

Leighton is a gender-neutral name of English origin meaning “meadow town”. It has 8 letters and 2 syllables, starting with L and ending in “-ton”. US birth records list Leighton for girls from 1956 to 2025, in 45 of those 70 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #342 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #342, with 892 babies. Of the 1,099 US babies named Leighton in 2025, 81% were girls and 19% were boys.

Origin:English names