# 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 turn 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, Leonidas or Leopold, and occasionally Llywellyn. In Japanese, Leo or Reo (怜央) is usually a masculine given name.
The name can refer to:

## People
### 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

### In sports
#### Association football

* Leo Andersson (born 2004), Finnish footballer
* 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 Kyllönen (born 2004), Finnish footballer
* 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 Hilokoski (born 1941), Finnish bowler
* 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 McCrea (born 2003), British-Swiss Paralympic swimmer
* Leo Merle (born 1998), American Paralympic athlete
* Leo Monahan (sportswriter) (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 Prantner (born 2001), Italian handball player
* 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 Monahan (artist) (born 1933), American paper artist
* 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 Keke (1947–2012), Nauruan politician
* 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 – c. 1554?), 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 Schuster (1791-1871), German-born British cotton-trader and merchant banker
* 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 (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
* A character in the video games WarioWare: Get It Together! and WarioWare: Move It!, as the minor antagonist
* 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
* Leo, a nickname for Leonardo Watch from the series Kekkai Sensen