Lesley
Lesley was the 4617th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 30 babies. Its best year was 1979, when it ranked 268th; the most babies were born in 1980 (928). Over the last ten years it has moved down 2,567 places. More babies were named Lesley in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Leslie) garden of hollies (Scottish place name) · Scottish Gaelic
- Rank in 2025
- #4,617 girls, down 1,493 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 30girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1980928 babies
- Total since 1880
- 39,098babies recorded
What does the name Lesley mean?
Lesley is a spelling of Leslie, pronounced the same way, so it shares Leslie's meaning and origin.
Leslie is a Scottish surname from a place name in Aberdeenshire. Wiktionary gives the older form Lesslyn and explains it as Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann, garden or enclosure of hollies. The surname then became a boys' name. Wiktionary notes that its use for girls is mostly American. In the US both sexes have used it since records began in 1880.
lios (Scottish Gaelic, “enclosure, garden”)cuileann (Scottish Gaelic, “holly”)
How sure is this? Probable. Wiktionary only; place-name etymologies of this kind are often uncertain.
Related names: Lesley, Les, Lesli.
See also: Scottish names, names that mean tree, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leslie' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Lesley popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,617 | — | 30 | — |
| 2020 | #3,124 | — | 51 | — |
| 2010 | #1,123 | #10,328 | 219 | 7 |
| 2000 | #430 | #4,496 | 658 | 17 |
| 1990 | #541 | #2,589 | 440 | 26 |
| 1980 | #269 | #1,282 | 928 | 53 |
| 1970 | #342 | #924 | 766 | 75 |
| 1960 | #647 | #873 | 244 | 76 |
| 1950 | #510 | #860 | 254 | 64 |
| 1940 | #1,331 | #834 | 32 | 57 |
| 1930 | #3,515 | #1,101 | 8 | 40 |
| 1920 | #2,416 | #980 | 15 | 50 |
| 1910 | #2,610 | #966 | 5 | 12 |
| 1900 | — | #879 | — | 10 |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Lesley, counting every spelling?
Lesley is a spelling of Leslie, a name family that ranked #518 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #4,617 for Lesley on its own. Together these spellings went to 585 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie | 393 | #712 | 2,259 |
| Lesly | 149 | #1,448 | 853 |
| Lesley | 30 | #4,617 | 186 |
| Lesli | 13 | #8,138 | 77 |
| Leslee | — | — | 34 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Lesley?
30 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lesley (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lesley born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 280 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lesley.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lesley?
About 31,300 people born in the US named Lesley are alive today, with a median age of 46; half are between 30 and 57. That makes Lesley mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Lesley by state
How common Lesley was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 46 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lesley: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lesley, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Lesley
What does Lesley mean?
Lesley is a spelling of Leslie, which means “garden of hollies (Scottish place name)” (Scottish Gaelic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Lesley?
Lesley was the 4617th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 30 babies. Its best year was 1979, when it ranked 268th; the most babies were born in 1980 (928). Over the last ten years it has moved down 2,567 places. More babies were named Lesley in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Lesley a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lesley in the US.
Where is Lesley most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lesley was most common in California (0.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Georgia.