girl's name · in the US
Leslie
LEZ-lee (English)
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl (US)
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 402,197
the United States
#714
2025 births
Leslie is a Scottish place name turned surname turned given name, and it has crossed sexes: about 71 percent of recorded births are female, though the name began firmly male and remains so in Britain.
- Leslie is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1957, when 8,199 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,801 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Leslie started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Leslie Over Time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, which so far covers 2020 to 2025.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,418 |
| 1890s | 2,320 |
| 1900s | 2,855 |
| 1910s | 11,415 |
| 1920s | 16,306 |
| 1930s | 13,689 |
| 1940s | 34,245 |
| 1950s | 64,430 |
| 1960s | 68,177 |
| 1970s | 52,033 |
| 1980s | 42,593 |
| 1990s | 28,729 |
| 2000s | 32,022 |
| 2010s | 10,234 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,952 |
What Leslie Means
Leslie means the holly garden, or a garden of hollies, from a Scottish place name. The derivation is not fully secure, and the name identifies a place rather than describing a person.
Where Leslie Comes From
Leslie is a place in Aberdeenshire, generally derived from Gaelic elements read as the holly garden or the gray fort, though neither is certain. The family who took the name were among the Scottish nobility, and it moved into given-name use in the nineteenth century as a boys' name — the usual direction for a transferred surname. The switch to female use is twentieth-century and American, and it went far enough that the name now reads as a girls' name to most English speakers while remaining male in older generations and in Britain. Leslie Howard and Leslie Nielsen are its best-known male bearers.
Leslie in Use
Leslie peaked in the United States in 1957, when 8,199 babies were registered, and is falling. It now ranks 714th in the United States on 425 births, 1,474th in France and 4,250th in England and Wales, across 402,197 lifetime births. About 71 percent of recorded births are female, which places it with Kelly, Shannon and Marion in a group of Scottish and Irish surnames that all crossed from male to female use in twentieth-century America.
How Popular Is Leslie?
In 2025, Leslie was given to 425 babies in the United States, ranking #714 that year. It ranks among the top 1,000 names in the United States.
Where Leslie Is Used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names That Peaked Alongside Leslie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents Who Like Leslie Also Like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Leslie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Boys' or Girls' Name?
Leslie is used differently depending on where you are. Each figure is the share of babies given the name who were girls, over the last ten years of that country's records.
- United States Girls' 93% girls · 5,814 babies
- France Girls' 100% girls · 425 babies
- Canada Both 79% girls · 359 babies
How to Say Leslie
- English LEZ-lee /ˈlɛz.li/
1 nickname for Leslie
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Leslie in Other Languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Lesley
Sibling Names for Leslie
Names from the same era that do not rhyme or share an initial with Leslie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common Questions About Leslie
What does the name Leslie mean?
The holly garden, from a place in Aberdeenshire — though the derivation is not fully secure.
Is Leslie a boys' or girls' name?
It began male and is now about 71 percent female on record, though it remains male in Britain and in older generations.
Is it Leslie or Lesley?
In British usage Lesley tends to be the female spelling and Leslie the male; American usage does not keep that distinction.
How popular is Leslie?
714th in the United States, down from a 1957 peak of 8,199 births.
How many syllables are in Leslie?
Leslie has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Leslie?
Leslie is usually shortened to Les.
Is Leslie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Leslie currently ranks #714 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.