Levy

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Luiz in BR Brazil, ES Spain, FI Finland and 7 more and Leo in LA Laos, TH Thailand.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Levy is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname201K records spelled Levy16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina, United States, Brazil, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Lévy, Lêvy, ̶L̶e̶v̶y̶, Lêvý, Lëvy

• French surname100K records spelled Levy12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Spain, United Kingdom

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Lévy, Lèvy, Le-Vy, Lê-Vy, Lêvy

• Hebrew surname21K records spelled Levy42 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Israel, United States, Bulgaria, Morocco

  Languages: Hebrew, English, Spanish

  Also written לוי, Lowy, Levi, לאווי, Loy

• a separate surname17K records spelled Levy6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Morocco

  Also written Lévy, Levý, Lèvy

• Czech surname11K records spelled Levy6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, United States, Poland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Czech, Polish, Slovak

  Also written Levý, Lévy, Ļěvý

• Hindi surname3.0K records spelled Levy3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Canada

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Lévy

75 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Levy is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Most common name before the Names Edict. Exists in the district of Upper Rhine, Breisach area, Mahlberg area, Alt- dorf, all over Baden 1809.

  as a name·The Origin of Jewish Family Names: Morphology and History

• from the Biblical personal name Levi, from a Hebrew word meaning ‘joining’. This was borne by a son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29: 34). Bearers of this name are Levites, members of the tribe of Levi, who form a hereditary caste who assist the kohanim (see Cohen) in their priestly duties.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, To impose (a tax or fine) to collect monies due, or to confiscate property.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• tribo de Levi

  as a name·Dicionario Sefaradi De SobrenomesDictionary Of Sephardic Surnames Inclusive Cristaos-Novos, Conversos, Marranos, Italianos,…

• In English, Louis, US chess master

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Paulette Goddardb. 1910USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress (1910–1990)
• Barbara Boxerb. 1940USnot in their usual nameAmerican politician, United States Senator from California
• Eugene Levyb. 1946CACanadian actor and comedian
• Sharon Osbourneb. 1952GBnot in their usual nameBritish-American television personality
• Gideon Levyb. 1953ILIsraeli journalist
• Dani Levyb. 1957CHSwiss-German actor, film director and screenwriter (b. 1957)
• Daniel Levyb. 1962GBBritish businessman (born 1962)
• Shawn Levyb. 1968USCanadian fimmaker (born 1968)
• William Levyb. 1980CUCuban actor
• Dan Levyb. 1983CACanadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1983)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 530 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Levy?

We estimate roughly 1.7 million people bear Levy (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Levy have the most bearers?

We estimate about 1.3 million people bear Levy in Brazil, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled luiz.

Where is Levy most common?

Levy is densest in Brazil, where the national register counts about 1 in 159 people carrying it.

How common is Levy compared with other names?

In Brazil, Levy is the 6th most common given name of 536,280 given names recorded there.

What does the name Levy mean?

Recorded meaning: From the medieval personal name Lefwi, from Old English Leofwig, literally 'beloved war'.