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I would not use it personally. It is slightly pretentious to me, but not unreasonably so. I can also see the appeal in it for someone else. It is not a bad name, just not quite my style.

Leopold is a tad pretentious to me. Mainly, I dislike the "pold" ending; I just don't find it attractive.

I love the name Leopold, especially with the nn Leo. I don't find it pretentious at all. Old-fashioned maybe, but in a good way.

I love Leopold! It has the potential to be pretentious, but I find Leo to be so solid and down to earth, that I think it helps ground it a bit in the real world.

I like Leopold and the nickname Leo. It definitely falls in the guilty pleasure category though since I would never use it on a child in real life.

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My great-grandmother had a cousin Leopold, but he was called Paul. His birth name was Joseph Leopold Napoleon Hippolyte Francois, he had a twin sister Marie Pauline Marguerite Virginie.

I really like Leopold as well. 8D Leopoldo is wonderful too!

I don't mind it. I actually also quite like Leopoldina for a girl, nickname Polly, after the character in Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford.

I absolutely adore Leopold and spurn the question of pretentiousness (due to the fact that many of my beloved names may be denounced as pretentious).

Why do historic, meaningful names get accused of being pretentious? I don't get that. I'm not picking on you in particular. It's just a general tendency that irks me. If a little Leopold finds the name unweildy, he can go by Leo. Easy.

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I love Leopold. I remember first hearing it as a child watching Bugs Bunny cartoons. They were doing a riff on Leopold Stokowski (sp?), the famous conductor. The musicians were terrified of him, whispering amoungst themselves, "Leopold! It's Leopold! Leopold!" Very comic. So I have only happy associations with it.

I just prefer, Leo.

I like it! I think it's very regal and makes me think of a dashing 18th-century gentleman. In his waistcoat. On a horse. As for real life usage, I think it's a slight bit of pretentious, but not so much that it's out of line. I'd love to see it used.