Leslie
Feminine
Leslie is given to both — 270,429 girls and 112,989 boys since 1880. See Leslie as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Leslie began as a place in Aberdeenshire, became the name of a Scottish clan, and then traveled as a first name — first to boys, later to girls in America. Robert Burns wrote a song for a Lesley in the 1790s, and the name has been sung, spelled and shortened steadily ever since. Two syllables, the z-sound in the middle, an easy fall at the end.
How old is the name Leslie?
Leslie was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Leslie alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 245,000 people named Leslie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Leslie most popular?
Leslie peaked in 1981, reaching #56 nationally. Today it ranks #712, 656 places below that high. See the whole 1981 chart.
Leslie appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Leslie (Aberdeenshire place name) to Leslie
The story of Leslie
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. The shift toward girls happened largely in America over the twentieth century, helped along by a spelling split that never fully took here — in Britain, Lesley became the usual female form while Leslie stayed male, whereas American records show Leslie itself moving decisively to girls. It has also been widely used in Spanish-speaking communities, often alongside the spelling Lesly.
Meaningscholars disagree
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.
How the name formed
- LeslieAberdeenshire place name
- LeslieScottish surname, Clan Leslie
- Lesliegiven name for boys
- Lesley / Lesliegiven name for girls
Related forms: Lesley · Lesly · Leslee · Leslie
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Leslie
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19576,103 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #56reached in 1981
- Change vs 2022
- −13.2%393 in 2025, from 453
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Leslie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lesley in Scottish and British English — spelling variant
- Lesly in Spanish (Latin America) — spelling variant
- Leslee in English — spelling variant
- Leslie in French — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Leslies among us
people named Leslie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,090 born in 2025 was named Leslie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ellen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Leslie's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ellen climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ellen's path sketches the road Leslie is walking now.
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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Leslie is headed
Leslie should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Leslie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Leslie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Recognized across English- and Spanish-speaking communities, where Leslie and Lesly sit side by side.
- 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.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Leslie
Feminine · #712 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leslies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 245,000 people named Leslie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Leslie in 2025?
- Leslie ranks #712 among US girl names in 2025, with 393 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Leslie?
- About 1 in every 4,090 US girls born in 2025 was named Leslie — 393 in all.
- Will my child share the name Leslie with classmates?
- Leslie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Leslie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mckinley#712 · Ryan#712 · Martha#712 · Analia#711 · Jazmin#710 · Lennox#716 · Dayana#716 · Kennedi#707
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Leslie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Leslie and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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