Leo is poised to return to the heights of popularity.  Alexander is everywhere.   So why not this equally ancient appellation that combines the best of both?

Thanks to Bizzy for suggesting Leander as Name of the Day.

If the year were 1909, you might have met a Leander.  In the 1890s, Leander was the 583rd most popular name for boys.  In the 1880s, he was #442.

That’s still only a handful.  Alexander and Leo were Top 100 choices in the same decades, and other getting-to-Leo names fared well, too – Leonard, Leon and Leopold charted.

Leander is from the Greek Leandros.  It means precisely what you might think – the first part comes from the word for lion, the second part, from the word for man.

Tragic hero Romeo has been bestowed on more boys in recent years.  The tale of Hero and Leander is similar, if less well known.  Leander drowned while swimming across the Hellespont to meet his beloved.  When she discovered his demise, Hero leapt from a window and met her death, too.  (Poetically, a the British Royal Navy has named many a vessel Leander.)

He wasn’t the last Leander.  The name was worn by Saint Leander of Seville, a late fifth century saint credited with converting the kings of the Visigoths.  A smattering of Leanders appears in the nineteenth century, too, including:

• Leander Babcock, a former Congressman from New York;
• His colleague from Kentucky, Leander Cox;
• On the other side of the world, Leander Starr Jameson, a doctor-turned colonial administrator in South Africa, remained almost universally admired, despite his involvement in a disastrous incident that has gone down in history as the Jameson Raid.  His given name was plausible for his time, but legend has it that it was chosen to honor a man who had saved his father from drowning;
• Leander McCormick made a fortune selling agricultural equipment.  He’d later give much of his earnings away to a range of philanthropic projects, some of which still bear his name;
• Leander McNelly was a Confederate officer;
• Leander Talbott made his money in Missouri real estate before serving as mayor of Kansas City;
• Into the early twentieth century, Leander Perez was a player in Louisiana politics.

The name isn’t completely unknown today.  HBO’s The Wire included a young police detective named Leander Sydnor.  Leander Jordan played in the NFL briefly; Brazilian-born Leandro Barbosa is currently plays basketball with the Phoenix Suns.

Leandro is heard in South America.  In Norway, Leander ranks in their Top 100 – and he’s climbing.

While “lion of a man” is an aggressively masculine meaning, Leander sounds soft – closer to the feminine Leah.  Perhaps that’s why he’s never found a wider audience.  Today, with Sebastian and Julian, Noah and Isaiah among the Boys’ Top 100, this should be less of an issue.

If you love Leo but want a longer formal name, Leander is an unexpected choice.  (And a less militaristic one than, say, Leonidas.)  He also could be a way to honor a loved one named Lee.  And in the middle spot, Leander seems like a great pick to balance out many of the shorter names coming into vogue for our sons.