Lesly
Masculine
Lesly is given to both — 504 boys and 15,281 girls since 1880. See Lesly as a girl 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 1919 — 106 years ago. The typical Lesly alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 400 people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lesly most popular?
Lesly peaked in 1952, reaching #2514 nationally. See the whole 1952 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
- 1919
- Most boys named
- 198916 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2514reached in 1952
- Change vs 2005
- −58.3%5 in 2012, from 12
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
Leslys among us
people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Lesly sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
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.
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Lesly
Masculine
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 400 people named Lesly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lesly in 2025?
- Lesly is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lesly with classmates?
- Lesly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lesly? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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