Lesly
Feminine
Lesly is given to both — 15,281 girls and 504 boys since 1880. See Lesly as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Lesly is Leslie with a y in place of the ie, the same two syllables in five letters instead of six. Behind it stands a Scottish place in Aberdeenshire, the family that took its name, and a long record as a first name on both sides of the Atlantic.
How old is the name Lesly?
Lesly first appears in US birth records in 1936 — 89 years ago. The typical Lesly alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 15,000 people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lesly most popular?
Lesly peaked in 2003, reaching #364 nationally. Today it ranks #1443, 1,079 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Leslie (Scottish place name) to Lesly
Our story of Lesly
Lesly keeps every sound of Leslie and gives up one letter. The name it rewrites started as a place in the northeast of Scotland, became the name of a family there, and then crossed the Atlantic as a first name. The single y at the end is the plainest way English has to close on an 'ee,' the same letter that ends Emily and Kimberly, and it makes the name as easy to read in Spanish as in English. Two syllables, five letters, and the whole of an old Scottish name inside them.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Lesly has no history apart from Leslie, a Scottish surname taken from lands in Aberdeenshire. Gaelic readings of that place name have been proposed and none is settled. No record says where or when the ie of Leslie was first traded for a y.
How the name formed
- LeslieScottish place name
- Lesliesurname
- Lesliefirst name
- Lesly
Related forms: Leslie · Lesley
Pronouncing Lesly
LEZ-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. American English usually says the s as a z; Spanish speakers say LES-lee with a clear s.
Nicknames for Lesly
Limited
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
- 1936
- Most girls named
- 2007766 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #364reached in 2003
- Change vs 2023
- −2.6%149 in 2025, from 153
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.
Lesly in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leslie in English — spelling variant
- Lesley in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Leslys among us
people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 10,787 born in 2025 was named Lesly
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 Julianne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lesly's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Julianne climbed just as high around 1985, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Julianne's path sketches the road Lesly is walking now.
Lesly 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 Lesly is headed
Lesly should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Lesly beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lesly in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Keeps the sound of a familiar name in a shorter spelling.
- Easy to read and say in both English and Spanish.
- A long Scottish history stands behind it through Leslie.
- Most people will write Leslie or Lesley first and some will take Lesly for a typo, so expect to spell it out.
- Leslie was long a man's name and a few boys are still given this spelling; for them it will be read as a girl's name almost everywhere.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Lesly
Feminine · #1443 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Leslys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 15,000 people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lesly in 2025?
- Lesly ranks #1443 among US girl names in 2025, with 149 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lesly?
- About 1 in every 10,787 US girls born in 2025 was named Lesly — 149 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lesly with classmates?
- Lesly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lesly
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Esmae#1443 · Annette#1443 · Elysia#1443 · Journei#1443 · Evalynn#1443 · Monserrat#1443 · Rayleigh#1443 · Linnea#1443
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lesly? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lesly and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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