Head to head · Girls' names
Leslie vs Martha
#712 vs #712 in 2025
Leslie and Martha share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#712). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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, Martha leads 2 measures of 6; Leslie leads 1.
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: Leslie #630, Martha #17 — Martha higher
- 1890s: Leslie #583, Martha #25 — Martha higher
- 1900s: Leslie #621, Martha #30 — Martha higher
- 1910s: Leslie #680, Martha #26 — Martha higher
- 1920s: Leslie #653, Martha #23 — Martha higher
- 1930s: Leslie #560, Martha #26 — Martha higher
- 1940s: Leslie #199, Martha #30 — Martha higher
- 1950s: Leslie #101, Martha #51 — Martha higher
- 1960s: Leslie #74, Martha #102 — Leslie higher
- 1970s: Leslie #68, Martha #159 — Leslie higher
- 1980s: Leslie #77, Martha #208 — Leslie higher
- 1990s: Leslie #122, Martha #296 — Leslie higher
- 2000s: Leslie #109, Martha #496 — Leslie higher
- 2010s: Leslie #363, Martha #748 — Leslie higher
- 2020s: Leslie #643, Martha #711 — Leslie higher
Martha stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Leslie has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Leslie | Martha |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #630 | #17 |
| 1890s | #583 | #25 |
| 1900s | #621 | #30 |
| 1910s | #680 | #26 |
| 1920s | #653 | #23 |
| 1930s | #560 | #26 |
| 1940s | #199 | #30 |
| 1950s | #101 | #51 |
| 1960s | #74 | #102 |
| 1970s | #68 | #159 |
| 1980s | #77 | #208 |
| 1990s | #122 | #296 |
| 2000s | #109 | #496 |
| 2010s | #363 | #748 |
| 2020s | #643 | #711 |
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
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.
Martha
lady, mistress of the house
Aramaic, and the feminine of the ordinary word for a lord or master. It is one of very few New Testament names that is Aramaic rather than Hebrew or Greek, which suits the character it belongs to.
marta → Martha
How it traveled
The most famous bearer of the name in modern times was a bird. She was the last passenger pigeon alive, a species that had numbered in the billions and darkened the sky over North America for days at a time within living memory, and she died in Cincinnati Zoo in the autumn of nineteen fourteen.
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
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.
Martha
MAR-thuh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Most European languages drop the h entirely and say MAR-tah, which English does not.
- Marty — An affectionate ending; unisex and rather informal.
- Mattie — Built from the front by sound; warm and of an older generation.
- Patty — An old and now obscure short form of this name rather than of Patricia.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Leslie if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLeslie is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowLeslie is stepping back from its peak
Choose Martha if you want…
- a name on the way upup 55 places on the charts in five years
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Leslie
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
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.
Martha
Strengths
- It is recognized across Europe with almost no change of spelling.
- The meaning is dignified and easy to explain without etymology.
- It has stayed in continuous use for the whole length of the record.
To consider
- Its peak was very early and the name carries that age for some ears.
- The biblical character is proverbially the busy one, which colors the name.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Leslie
40%chance Leslie feels dated by 2040
Leslie sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Martha
12%chance Martha feels dated by 2040
Martha has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Leslie and Martha 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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names that belong entirely to the 1980s
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Leslie and Martha each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Leslie or Martha — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Leslie or Martha?
- They tie in 2025: Leslie ranked #712 with 393 babies; Martha ranked #712 with 393 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Leslie or Martha?
- Martha. Over the last five years Leslie moved down 117 places; Martha moved up 55 places.
- Which is the older name, Leslie or Martha?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Leslie and Martha?
- About 245,000 people named Leslie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 241,000 people named Martha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Leslies or Marthas in the classroom?
- Leslie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Martha 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
Keep playing
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