Leslie
Scottish surname from a place in Aberdeenshire. The Gaelic elements have been read as a reference to a garden of hollies, though this is not certain.
Leslie in 2025
Leslie was given to 425 babies in the United States in 2025 — 32 boys and 393 girls, making it the 1,314th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 7,801 babies born.
The history of Leslie
Leslie reached its highest point in 1957, when 8,199 babies were given the name, ranking 102nd that year. Its best-ever ranking was 101st, in 1969.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 383,418 babies have been named Leslie. Half of them were born before 1966, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.
Leslie has switched sex over its history: it went mostly to boys in its early decades, and goes mostly to girls today.
Leslie by decade
| Decade | Babies named Leslie | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,418 | 231 |
| 1890s | 2,320 | 238 |
| 1900s | 2,855 | 244 |
| 1910s | 11,415 | 231 |
| 1920s | 16,306 | 246 |
| 1930s | 13,689 | 271 |
| 1940s | 34,245 | 139 |
| 1950s | 64,430 | 102 |
| 1960s | 68,177 | 101 |
| 1970s | 52,033 | 107 |
| 1980s | 42,593 | 113 |
| 1990s | 28,729 | 200 |
| 2000s | 32,022 | 186 |
| 2010s | 10,234 | 421 |
| 2020s | 2,952 | 1,113 |
Where Leslie is heading
Leslie has fallen 55% over the past decade, from 936 babies in 2015 to 425 in 2025.
Names like Leslie
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Leslie.