Wesley
Feminine · “western meadow”
Wesley is given to boys far more often — 247,713 boys against 3,256 girls since 1880. See Wesley as a boy name
Wesley is the western meadow, and the two brothers who carried it as a surname founded Methodism between them.
How old is the name Wesley?
Wesley first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Wesley alive today was born around 1992, making them about 33 years old. About 2,800 people named Wesley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wesley most popular?
Wesley peaked in 1890, reaching #1338 nationally. Today it ranks #1911, 573 places below that high. See the whole 1890 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From west leah to Wesley
The story of Wesley
John Wesley preached some forty thousand sermons and his brother Charles wrote around six thousand hymns; Methodism takes its shape from both. Their surname became a given name among Methodist families from the eighteenth century. Feminine use is recent, and Wesley appears in the American feminine registers in current use.
Meaning
western meadow
From the Old English west and leah, 'wood' or 'clearing'. Westley and Wesley both descend from English place names of that construction. Both elements are ordinary and the compound is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- west leah
- Wesley
Related forms: Westley · Weslee
Pronouncing Wesley
WEZ-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Wesley and Westley are said close to identically.
Nicknames for Wesley
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
- 1890
- Most girls named
- 2023114 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1338reached in 1890
- Change vs 2023
- −11.4%101 in 2025, from 114
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.
Wesley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Westley in English — spelling variant
- Weslee in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Wesleys among us
people named Wesley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,914 born in 2025 was named Wesley
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Wesley 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 Wesley is headed
Wesley 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.
Wesley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wesley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The western-meadow meaning is concrete and belongs to a real family of place names.
- Two brothers who founded a worldwide denomination carry the surname.
- Wes and Lee are two short forms, both with real records.
- It reads as masculine to nearly everyone in America.
- The Methodist association is strong and specific.
- It is very new as a feminine given name.
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What they receive
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Wesley
Feminine · #1911 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wesleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Wesley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wesley in 2025?
- Wesley ranks #1911 among US girl names in 2025, with 101 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wesley?
- About 1 in every 15,914 US girls born in 2025 was named Wesley — 101 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wesley with classmates?
- Wesley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wesley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Susie#1911 · Jazzlyn#1911 · Carlee#1911 · Sahana#1911 · Chosen#1911 · Philomena#1911 · Valkyrie#1911 · Lillith#1911
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wesley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wesley and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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