Leslie
2025 SSA
About Leslie
A Scottish place and surname that was once adrogynous but now leans about 20 to 1 toward the girls' side, Leslie has a pleasant, heathery feel that kept it in or near the Top 100 for several decades; the Lesly and Lesley spellings are also frequently used, especially in Britain. While Leslie may not be the freshest name in the bunch, it's become a modern classic and is one of the surprising names always to have ranked among the US Top 1000 for girls.
Trivia tidbit: Both President Gerald Ford and comedian Bob Hope were born Leslie, and Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart used the name for their daughter, in honor of actor Leslie Howard.
Pronounced LES-lee.
As of October 2026, Leslie ranked #712 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #56 in 1981, Nameberry popularity #796.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #338 | 1,000 | 559.8 |
| 2015 | #371 | 880 | 493 |
| 2016 | #414 | 806 | 454.8 |
| 2017 | #449 | 704 | 407.8 |
| 2018 | #521 | 600 | 352.7 |
| 2019 | #536 | 572 | 340.8 |
| 2020 | #596 | 488 | 301.9 |
| 2021 | #624 | 477 | 290.7 |
| 2022 | #653 | 453 | 276.2 |
| 2023 | #670 | 440 | 274.2 |
| 2024 | #605 | 495 | 305.5 |
| 2025 | #712 | 393 | 244.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Leslie.
- Carolyn
- Shannon
- Candace
- Joyce
- Lynn
- Kirsten
- Carrie
- Carla
- Kelly
- Hillary
- Lindsay
- Whitney
- Jessie
- Julie
- Kathryn
- Donna
- Jillian
- Shelby
- Kristen
- Jayne
Leslie on lists
Famous Leslies
- Leslie Claire Margaret Caron
French actress
- Leslie Mann
American actress
- Leslie Louise Bibb
American actress
- Leslie Feist
Canadian singer,songwriter
- Leslie Uggams
American actress and singer
- Leslie Ann Stefanson
American actress/ model/artist
- Leslie Marmon Silko
American novelist
- Leslie Bourgouin
French pop singer
- Leslie Barbara Carter
American pop singer; sister of singers Nick and Aaron Carter
- Leslie de Selincourt
wife of Christopher Robin Milne
- Mrs. Leslie Carter (born Caroline Louise Dudley)
American actress
- Leslie Jeanne Erganian
American visual artist and writer
- Leslie Glass
American adult film actress
- Leslie Ann "Sam" Phillips
American singer,songwriter
- Leslie Howard Bogart
daughter of actors Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
- Leslie Erin Grossman
American actress
Leslie in pop culture
- Leslie Moore
character in L.M. Montgomery's "Anne's House of Dreams"
- Leslie Knope
character on TV's "Parks and Recreation"
- Leslie Burke
character in "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
- Leslie Buffay
one of Phoebe's triplets on TV's "Friends"
- Leslie
character in "Ink Exchange" by Melissa Marr
- Leslie Elizabeth Shay
character on TV's "Chicago Fire"
- Leslie Benedict
character in "Giant" by Edna Ferber
- Leslie "Lee" Thompkins
character in DC Universe
- Leslie Willis aka Livewire
character in DC Universe
- Leslie Corrales
main character in the Spanish novel "La Guerra Sucia"
- Leslie Rodgers
main character played by Jennifer Lopez in the 2013 film "Parker"
- Leslie Winkle
character on the TV series "The Big Bang Theory"
- Leslie Hunter is a character in "St. Elmo's Fire"
portrayed by Ally Sheedy.