Leon Family History

Spanish (León): habitational name from León, a city in northwestern Spain named with Latin legio, genitive legionis ‘legion’, a division of the Roman army. In Roman times, the city was the garrison of the 7th Legion, known as the Legio Gemina. The city's name became shortened from Legion(em) to Leon(em), and in this form developed an unetymological association with the word for ‘lion’ (Spanish león).

French (Léon) and Spanish (León): from the personal name Léon, León, from Latin leo ‘lion’ or the cognate Greek leōn. The name Leo(n) was borne by numerous early Christian martyrs and thirteen popes.

Spanish (León): nickname for a fierce or brave warrior from león ‘lion’.

Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 梁, see Liang.