Gender:

Female

Meaning:

Weary (from Hebrew: le’ah)
Misstress (from Chaldean)
Ruler (from Akkadian)

History & etymology:

Leah (or its variant: Lea) was a popular given name among the Jews in the Middle Ages. It may stem from Hebrew word le’ah, which means weary. Alternative languages of origin might be Chaldean or Akkadian.

There are two saint patrons for this name: one of them is described in the Bible and the other in letters written by St. Jerome.

The Biblical St. Leah was born around 1700 BC and was Jacob’s, the Jewish patriarch’s, wife. Her marriage was not a happy one, though. Jacob was in love with Leah’s younger sister, Rachel, but girls’ family wanted to give away the older daughter first. Consequently, they substituted Leah for Rachel on the wedding night. This way Jacob was tricked into marriage with Leah. Devastated, he worked hard to be able to afford a second wife and married Rachel seven years later. In spite of this, Leah was a devoted and loyal wife who craved her husband’s affection. To compensate for her misery, God blessed her with six sons and a daughter while Rachel was infertile.

Her feast day is celebrated on 24th December.

The other St. Leah was a noblewoman born in Rome in the 4th century. When she became a widow, she decided to spend the rest of her life in a monastery. She got rid of her jewellery and clothes and started to wear a sackcloth. Her feast day is celebrated on 22nd March.

Alternative spellings & nicknames:

Lea, Leatrice, Leia,
Lee (masculine of feminine)

Similar names in other languages & name days:

Austria
22nd March: Lea
Finland
5th January: Lea, Leea
France
22nd March: Léa
Germany
22nd March: Lea
Hungary
2nd August: Lehel
Italy
1st June: Lia
Poland
22nd March
USA
19th July: Lea, Leah

Famous people named Leah or Lea:

Leah Ayres (1957-) - American actress
Leah Baird (1883 - 1791) - American actress
Leah Goldstein (1969-) - Israeli cyclist
Lea Gottlieb (1918 - 2012) - Hungarian-Israeli fashion designer
Leah Manning (1886 - 1977) - English politician
Leah Miller (1981-) - Canadian actress
Lea Padovani (1920-1991) - Italian actress
Leah Pipes (1988-) - American actress
Léa Seydoux (1985-) - French actress

Fun facts:

Popularity (2015):

USA: 36th  
England and Wales: 98th  
Canada:  69th
Australia: 82th
Ireland:  34th
Scotland: 38d
New Zealand: 66st

Lucky colors: yellow, white, blue
Lucky stone: Diamond
Ruling planet: Venus
Characteristics: spiritual, strong, adventurous, intelligent

Leah is the name of a character in "Twilight" saga.
Leah Brahms is a character in TV series "Star Trek".