Lear
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- LEER
- Origin
- Celtic
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- Style
- New arrival
Lear is a boys' name of Celtic origin. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Lear mean?
Celtic: from Leir, a legendary king of Britain, perhaps linked with Welsh Llyr
Shakespeare's King Lear is based on Leir, a legendary early king of Britain.
Is Lear a girl's or a boy's name?
Lear is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Lear in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 5,065th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3 about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Lear, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2024, with 5 boys.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Lear in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 5 | #3,772 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 1 | #6,364 |
Names like Lear
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Arthur, Luke, Bear, Leo, George, Lyle, Jack, Louie, James, Jude, Harvey, Lake
More Celtic names
Imogen, Gael, Alana, Alan, Tristan, Vienna, Lana, Alaina, Sabrina, Alanna, Bryce, Devon, Arturo, Alannah, Cedric, Clyde
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Lear: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/lear, updated 20 October 2026.