Lesly
Lesly was the 1448th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 149 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 364th with 839 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 332 places. More babies were named Lesly in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Leslie) garden of hollies (Scottish place name) · Scottish Gaelic
- Rank in 2025
- #1,448 girls, down 108 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 149girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2003839 babies
- Total since 1880
- 15,785babies recorded
What does the name Lesly mean?
Lesly 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)
Lesly popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 504 since 1919.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,448 | 149 |
| 2020 | #1,340 | 165 |
| 2010 | #581 | 505 |
| 2000 | #389 | 742 |
| 1990 | #1,681 | 88 |
| 1980 | #2,914 | 31 |
| 1970 | #2,822 | 25 |
| 1960 | #2,129 | 30 |
| 1950 | #3,337 | 11 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Lesly, counting every spelling?
Lesly is a spelling of Leslie, a name family that ranked #518 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,448 for Lesly 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 Lesly?
149 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lesly (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lesly 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 56 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lesly.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lesly?
About 15,000 people born in the US named Lesly are alive today, with a median age of 22; half are between 16 and 27. That makes Lesly mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Lesly by state
How common Lesly was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (2.9×), Tennessee (1.9×), New York (1.9×), California (1.5×). In 34 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 Lesly: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lesly, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Lesly
What does Lesly mean?
Lesly is a spelling of Leslie, which means “garden of hollies (Scottish place name)” (Scottish Gaelic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Lesly?
Lesly was the 1448th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 149 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 364th with 839 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 332 places. More babies were named Lesly in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Lesly a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lesly in the US.
Where is Lesly most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lesly was most common in Maryland (0.30 per 1,000 girls), followed by Tennessee and New York.