Lev (given name)

Lev (Greek Λέων meaning "lion") is a male Slavic name of Greek origin. The name is also common in Jewish communities and means "heart" in Hebrew and appears as "Leyb" in Yiddish.

GenderMale

LanguageSlavic

Word/nameGreek Λέων

MeaningLion

Quick facts Gender, Language ...

Lev

Gender	Male
Language	Slavic
Origin
Word/name	Greek Λέων
Meaning	Lion

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Common in Russia. The name was brought to Russia with Christianity and was uncommon up until the 20th century, when it became popular after Lev Tolstoy.^[1]

People with this name include:

• Leo I of Galicia (Lev Danylovych in Ukrainian) (c. 1228 – c. 1301), Knyaz (prince) of Belz, Peremyshl, Halych, Grand Prince of Kyiv and King of Galicia-Volhynia.
• Lev Alburt (born 1945), chess Grandmaster and chess writer.
• Lev Artsimovich (1909–1973), Soviet physicist.
• Lev Berg (1876–1950), Soviet geographer, biologist and ichthyologist.
• Lev Brovarskyi (1948–2009), Soviet football player and Ukrainian coach.
• Lev Chernyi (died 1921), Russian individualist anarchist theorist, activist and poet.
• Lev Dengov (born 1984), Russian politician and businessman.
• Lev Dyomin (1926–1988), Soviet cosmonaut and Air Force colonel.
• Lev Grossman (born 1969), American novelist and critic.
• Lev Gumilyov (1912–1992), Soviet historian, ethnologist and anthropologist.
• Lev Hakak (born 1944), Israeli-American academic, novelist and poet.
• Lev Ivanov (1834–1901), Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet.
• Lev Ivanov (football manager) (born 1967), Russian football manager.
• Lev Korchebokov (1907–1971), Soviet football player and manager.
• Lev Kamenev (1883–1936), Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician.
• Lev Kirshner (born 1969), American soccer player and coach.
• Lev Kuleshov (1899–1970), Soviet filmmaker and film theorist.
• Lev Khrshchonovich (1838–1907), chief architect of Kazan.
• Lev Landau (1908–1968), Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.
• Lev Leshchenko (born 1940), Russian singer.
• Lev Avnerovich Leviev (born 1956), Israeli businessman and philanthropist.
• Lev Binzumovich Leviev (born 1984), Russian-Israeli Internet entrepreneur and investor.
• Lev Loseff (1937–2009), Russian poet, literary critic, essayist and educator.
• Lev Mei (1822–1862), Russian dramatist and poet.
• Lev Naryshkin (1785–1846), Russian general in the Napoleonic Wars.
• Lev Perovski (1792–1856), Russian count, mineralogist and Minister of Internal Affairs under Nicholas I.
• Lev Pitaevskii (1933–2022), Soviet theoretical physicist.
• Lev Polugaevsky (1934–1995), Soviet grandmaster and author.
• Lev Pontryagin (1908–1988), Soviet mathematician.
• Lev Russov (1926–1987), Soviet painter, graphic artist and sculptor.
• Lev Sedov (1906–1938), son of the Russian communist leader Leon Trotsky.
• Lev Shatilo (born 1962), retired javelin thrower from the Soviet Union.
• Lev Shcheglov (1946–2020), Russian physician.
• Lev L. Spiro, American television and film director.
• Lev Termen (1896–1993), often translated as Leon Theremin, Russian inventor.
• Lev Tolstoy (1828–1910), often translated as Leo Tolstoy, Russian author.
• Lev Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronshteyn) (1879–1940), often translated as Leon Trotsky, Russian economist and revolutionary.
• Lev Vladimirovich Urusov (1877–1933), Russian prince, diplomat and tennis player.
• Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), Soviet psychologist.
• Lev Weinstein (1916–2004), Soviet world champion and Olympic bronze medalist in shooting.
• Lev Yashin (1929–1990), Soviet-Russian football goalkeeper.
• Lev Yilmaz (born 1973), American independent filmmaker, artist and publisher.
• Lev Zadov (1893–1938), Ukrainian counter-intelligence agent.