Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 1980

Lesley

Meaning garden of hollies Gender Unisex · 88% girls Rank 2025 #4,617 Trend ↓ Falling 40%

From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”).

Rank 2025
#4,617
among girls · ↓532 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
30
named Lesley · -17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 53,576
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1980
981 babies
All-time total
39,098
#760 all-time among girls
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Lesley popularity over time

39,098 babies have been named Lesley since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 11 11 1 – –
1890s 5 18 23 2 +109% #1,546
1900s – 74 74 7 +222% –
1910s 65 260 325 33 +339% #2,101
1920s 112 459 571 57 +76% #2,416
1930s 219 363 582 58 +2% #1,173
1940s 1,423 630 2,053 205 +253% #521
1950s 3,125 809 3,934 393 +92% #473
1960s 5,137 848 5,985 599 +52% #324
1970s 7,719 628 8,347 835 +39% #268
1980s 6,402 376 6,778 678 -19% #269
1990s 4,638 193 4,831 483 -29% #394
2000s 4,124 100 4,224 422 -13% #430
2010s 1,095 28 1,123 112 -73% #1,123
2020s (to 2025) 237 – 237 40 -65% #3,124

Where Lesley is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 28 0.02 outside top 500
2027 26 0.02 outside top 500
2028 25 0.02 outside top 500
2029 23 0.01 outside top 500
2030 22 0.01 outside top 500

The story of Lesley

Lesley is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #4,617 in 2025 with 30 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 39,098 American babies have been named Lesley, about 88% girls and 12% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1980, when 981 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Lesley stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lesley?

The median living Lesley is about 46 years old; half are between 31 and 57. An estimated 35 thousand people named Lesley are alive in the United States today.

median 46 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Lesley year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 30 #4,617 – –
2024 36 #4,085 – –
2023 29 #4,706 – –
2022 51 #3,196 – –
2021 40 #3,774 – –
2020 51 #3,124 – –
2019 51 #3,149 – –
2018 62 #2,770 – –
2017 52 #3,119 – –
2016 76 #2,438 8 #9,359
2015 96 #2,050 6 #11,550
2014 113 #1,814 – –
2013 120 #1,735 – –
2012 131 #1,642 – –
2011 175 #1,330 7 #10,323
2010 219 #1,123 7 #10,328
2009 223 #1,137 10 #8,067
2008 254 #1,033 5 #13,777
2007 353 #815 7 #10,448
2006 371 #744 12 #6,734
2005 382 #716 8 #8,785
2004 451 #610 9 #7,929
2003 452 #604 12 #6,104
2002 471 #564 11 #6,353
2001 509 #524 9 #7,270
2000 658 #430 17 #4,496
1995 276 #741 10 #5,750
1990 440 #541 26 #2,589
1985 565 #401 26 #2,154
1980 928 #269 53 #1,282
1975 714 #321 56 #1,132
1970 766 #342 75 #924
1965 744 #330 95 #761
1960 244 #647 76 #873
1955 333 #506 69 #896
1950 254 #510 64 #860
1945 129 #644 48 #933
1940 32 #1,331 57 #834
1935 28 #1,404 37 #1,070
1930 8 #3,515 40 #1,101
1925 14 #2,556 53 #927
1920 15 #2,416 50 #980
1915 10 #2,812 27 #1,290
1910 5 #2,610 12 #966
1905 – – 10 #821
1900 – – 10 #879
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Lesley

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Lesley Manville Lesley Manville English actress (born 1956) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren American singer-actress b. 1946 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Lesley Gore Lesley Gore American singer (1946–2015) Contemporary
  4. 4 Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp British actress b. 1960 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Lesley Turner Bowrey Lesley Turner Bowrey Australian tennis player b. 1942 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Lesley Roy Irish singer b. 1986 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Lesley, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Lesley?

The median living Lesley is about 46 years old. Half of all living Lesleys are between 31 and 57 years old.

How many people named Lesley are alive today?

An estimated 35 thousand people named Lesley are alive in the United States, based on 39,098 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lesley mean?

From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”).

How popular is the name Lesley in 2025?

Lesley ranked #4,617 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 30 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lesley?

39,098 babies have been named Lesley in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lesley most popular?

Lesley peaked in 1980, when 981 newborns received the name.

Is Lesley a boy or girl name?

Lesley is used for both: about 88% of babies named Lesley have been girls and 12% boys.

Is the name Lesley rising or falling?

Lesley is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Lesley become more popular?

Lesley is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 22 girls named Lesley in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Lesley?

Well-known people named Lesley include Lesley Manville (actor), Lesley Ann Warren (actor), Lesley Gore (actor).

Names like Lesley

Names that sound and feel close to Lesley: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Lesley with similar names → More names starting with L →