Latin form of the Greek name Leandros, derived from leōn ‘lion’
+ anēr ‘man’ (genitive andros). In Greek legend, Leander swam
across the Hellespont every night to visit his beloved Hero and
back again every morning; he was eventually drowned during a
storm. In Christian times, the name was borne by a 6th-century
saint, the brother of Sts Fulgentius, Isidore, and Florentina.
He was a leading ecclesiastical figure of his day, a friend of
Gregory the Great, and became archbishop of Seville. In modern
times, the name has occasionally been used as an elaboration of
the boy's name Lee.