Lionel
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Latin of mostly British usage. A Middle English diminutive of French Léon, Latin Leo (“lion”), or of the Middle English nickname Lion + -el (diminutive suffix).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Lionel (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Lionel has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 11 |
| 2008 | 12 |
| 2009 | 15 |
| 2010 | 41 |
| 2011 | 62 |
| 2012 | 61 |
| 2013 | 42 |
| 2014 | 58 |
| 2015 | 61 |
| 2016 | 73 |
| 2017 | 55 |
| 2018 | 66 |
| 2019 | 78 |
| 2020 | 83 |
| 2021 | 103 |
| 2022 | 92 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 32 |
| 2000 | 35 |
| 2001 | 36 |
| 2002 | 38 |
| 2003 | 40 |
| 2004 | 43 |
| 2005 | 48 |
| 2006 | 55 |
| 2007 | 65 |
| 2008 | 77 |
| 2009 | 94 |
| 2010 | 135 |
| 2011 | 202 |
| 2012 | 269 |
| 2013 | 312 |
| 2014 | 370 |
| 2015 | 432 |
| 2016 | 509 |
| 2017 | 564 |
| 2018 | 626 |
| 2019 | 713 |
| 2020 | 797 |
Lionel in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Lionel.Hi! My name is Lionel.
- Lionel har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Lionel has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Lionel kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Lionel is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Lionels mamma är lärare.Lionel's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Lionels mamma is Lionel's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Lionel
How do you pronounce Lionel in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Lionel in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Lionel mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Latin of mostly British usage. A Middle English diminutive of French Léon, Latin Leo (“lion”), or of the Middle English nickname Lion + -el (diminutive suffix).
How popular is Lionel in Sweden?
92 babies were named Lionel in 2022. In 2020, 797 people in Sweden had Lionel as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.