How Many People Are Named Leslie?
people named Leslie are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 1,172 people in the US has this name
Based on 383,418 babies named Leslie in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐ Uncommon
Peak Year
8,199 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From a Scottish surname which was derived from a Scottish place name, probably derived from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly". It has been used as a given name since the 19th century. In America it was more common as a feminine name after the 1940s.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Leslie in English. Counting Leslie and these spellings together, about 325,812 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Of the babies given the name Leslie, 82.9% were girls and 17.1% were boys. The share of girls among babies named Leslie rose from 8.9% in the 1880s to 93.1% in the 2020s.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Leslie alive today is about 50 years old, and 44% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 35 and 65 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Leslie first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1957, to 8,199 babies. In 2025, 425 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Leslie never made the top 10 girls' names. Its best rank was #56, in 1981, and it was in the top 100 in 41 years between 1953 and 2004. In 2025 it ranked #712. Among boys, its best rank was #81, in 1895.
| Girls | Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #712 | #3,562 |
| Best rank | #56 (1981) | #81 (1895) |
| Years in the top 100 | 41 (1953 to 2004) | 22 (1887 to 1909) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #71 in the 1960s | #144 in the 1950s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Leslie alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Leslie were born in California than in any other state: about 43,610 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Leslie was given 1.6 times as often in Nevada, 1.5 times in Montana and 1.4 times in California.
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