Head to head · Girls' names
Lennox vs Leslie
#716 vs #712 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Leslie is a whisker ahead (#712 vs #716 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Leslie leads 5 measures of 6; Lennox leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Lennox —, Leslie #630 — Leslie higher
- 1890s: Lennox —, Leslie #583 — Leslie higher
- 1900s: Lennox —, Leslie #621 — Leslie higher
- 1910s: Lennox —, Leslie #680 — Leslie higher
- 1920s: Lennox —, Leslie #653 — Leslie higher
- 1930s: Lennox —, Leslie #560 — Leslie higher
- 1940s: Lennox —, Leslie #199 — Leslie higher
- 1950s: Lennox —, Leslie #101 — Leslie higher
- 1960s: Lennox —, Leslie #74 — Leslie higher
- 1970s: Lennox —, Leslie #68 — Leslie higher
- 1980s: Lennox —, Leslie #77 — Leslie higher
- 1990s: Lennox #13518, Leslie #122 — Leslie higher
- 2000s: Lennox #12681, Leslie #109 — Leslie higher
- 2010s: Lennox #1762, Leslie #363 — Leslie higher
- 2020s: Lennox #638, Leslie #643 — Lennox higher
Leslie stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Lennox took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lennox | Leslie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #630 |
| 1890s | — | #583 |
| 1900s | — | #621 |
| 1910s | — | #680 |
| 1920s | — | #653 |
| 1930s | — | #560 |
| 1940s | — | #199 |
| 1950s | — | #101 |
| 1960s | — | #74 |
| 1970s | — | #68 |
| 1980s | — | #77 |
| 1990s | #13518 | #122 |
| 2000s | #12681 | #109 |
| 2010s | #1762 | #363 |
| 2020s | #638 | #643 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lennox
From the Lennox district in Scotland — 'place of elms'
The root is Gaelic leamhan, 'elm'; the district name Leamhnachd was anglicized through forms like Levenax before settling as Lennox. The River Leven, running out of Loch Lomond through that same country, carries the same root.
leamhan (Gaelic, 'elm') → Leamhnachd → Levenax → Lennox
How it traveled
The Lennox is a real place: the old territory around Loch Lomond and the Leven valley, in what is now Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire. From the twelfth century it gave its name to an earldom, and later to a dukedom held in the Stewart line, so the word traveled with noble families and then with ordinary emigrant ones.
Leslie
From the Scottish place and surname Leslie; most often read as 'garden of hollies'
The name is certainly from Leslie in Aberdeenshire, but the Gaelic behind that place name is argued over. The most repeated reading joins words for enclosure or garden and holly — 'holly garden'. Another takes the second element as 'grey', giving something like 'grey fort' or 'grey meadow'. The place is documented; the translation is not settled.
Leslie (Aberdeenshire place name) → Leslie (Scottish surname, Clan Leslie) → Leslie (given name for boys) → Lesley / Leslie (given name for girls)
How it traveled
Leslie is Scottish before it is anything else: a parish and estate in Aberdeenshire, then the surname of the family that held it, whose line produced the Earls of Rothes. Like many Scottish surnames it crossed into use as a given name, and for a long stretch it was given mainly to boys.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Lennox
LEN-uks
Stress on the first syllable. Two syllables everywhere in English; the ending sounds exactly like the x in box. Rarely mispronounced, though it is sometimes misspelled as Lenox.
- Lenny — The most common informal short form; also stands alone as a given name in its own right, usually from Leonard.
- Len — Clipped and old-fashioned in tone; long established as an independent name as well.
- Nox — A recent short form taken from the ending rather than the start; used informally.
- Lex — Informal, borrowed from the x sound; also used for Alexander and Alexandra.
Leslie
LEZ-lee
The s is usually voiced, giving LEZ-lee; some speakers, particularly in parts of Britain, say LESS-lee. Both are accepted and the name survives either way.
- Les — The standard short form, used informally; also stands alone as a given name, most often for men of older generations.
- Lee — Informal, drawn from the ending rather than the start; a full given name in its own right for both sexes.
- Lelie — A family-level pet form, heard mostly from small children and relatives rather than in general use.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lennox if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLennox is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalLennox entered the US charts in 1996
Choose Leslie if you want…
- a long American recordLeslie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Lennox
Strengths
- The spelling is the standard one for the Scottish district and surname, so most people write it correctly on the first try.
- Familiar to English speakers as a surname long before it was a first name, which means it reads as a real name rather than an invention.
- Works for a boy or a girl without changing form or spelling.
To consider
- Most children given this name are boys, though a real minority are girls. For a girl it will read as the less expected choice, which some families welcome and others find tiring to explain.
- Its rise as a first name is very recent, so the name skews strongly young right now. It sounds contemporary in a way that its medieval Scottish roots do not immediately suggest.
- The -ox ending puts it in company with Knox, Maddox and Jax, a cluster of currently fashionable sounds. If you want a name that doesn't signal its decade, that's worth weighing.
Leslie
Strengths
- Spelled the way most English speakers expect on first hearing, and short enough to fit any form.
- In continuous use as a given name for well over a century, with an unbroken record rather than a single fashionable burst.
- Carries two long-established short forms, Les and Lee, both of which also work as full names.
To consider
- The gender split is real. In the US the spelling reads female; in Britain and much of the Commonwealth, Leslie reads male and Lesley female. A girl named Leslie may be assumed male on paperwork abroad, and a boy named Leslie will meet the opposite assumption here.
- Expect to spell it. Lesley, Lesly, Leslee and Leslie all circulate, so the question 'with an -ey?' will come up for life.
- The name sits strongly with adults now rather than with children, so a Leslie born today will likely be the only one in her class — and will be sharing a name with a great many grown women.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Lennox and Leslie in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Lennox and Leslie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lennox or Leslie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lennox or Leslie?
- Leslie, in 2025: Leslie ranked #712 with 393 babies; Lennox ranked #716 with 392 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lennox or Leslie?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Lennox moved down 127 places; Leslie moved down 117 places.
- Which is the older name, Lennox or Leslie?
- Lennox entered the US charts in 1996; Leslie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Leslie is the older name.
- How many people are named Lennox and Leslie?
- About 5,400 people named Lennox are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 245,000 people named Leslie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lennoxs or Leslies in the classroom?
- Lennox will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leslie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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