Lennox

How to say it

/ˈlɛn.əks/

What it means

A Scottish surname and district name, from Leamhnachd, generally taken to mean 'place of elms.'

Lennox is a Scottish clan and place name for the district around Loch Lomond, from a Gaelic root usually read as 'elm grove.' Shakespeare put a thane named Lennox in Macbeth, and the modern ear knows it from boxer Lennox Lewis and singer Annie Lennox. Its sharp -ox ending rides the same wave as Knox and Maddox, which is much of why it climbed. Len and Lenny are the gentler shorts.

Heads-up notes

• Spelling

  The -ox ending links it to Knox, Maddox, and Jax, the cluster driving its popularity.

• Nickname

  Len and Lenny soften it for everyday use.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

• Lennox Lewis undisputed heavyweight boxing champion
• Lennox a Scottish thane in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Spelling variants

• Lenox
• Lennix

Names with the same feeling

• Knox Round hill
• Beckett Bee cottage, or 'small stream'
• Maddox Son of Madoc, 'fortunate'
• Brooks Of the brook
• Nash At the ash tree

See Lennox from another angle