May 8, 2025 - World
The new pope picked a very on-trend name
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Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicagoan, was elected Thursday by his fellow Catholic cardinals as the first American pope.
Between the lines: His papal name is Leo XIV — and Leo is very on trend, at least here in the United States.
- Leo was a decently popular moniker for American male newborns for a few decades around the turn of the 20th century, peaking at No. 38 in 1903.
- It then began a gradual but precipitous plunge, bottoming out at No. 486 in 1995.
- Since then, it's become more popular than ever — and at a dizzying clip — reaching a new height of No. 18 in 2023.
The big picture: Trends aside, the new pope is said to have chosen his name as a nod to Pope Leo XIII, elected in 1878, who was committed to the social teaching of the church.
The bottom line: Whether the rise in American Leos is due to millennials who grew up with "Titanic" having kids or soccer fans loving Messi in Miami, the new pope appears to be in sync with the naming zeitgeist in his native land.
