Leslie
About Leslie
This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley widely used as the feminine variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes.
Trivia tidbit: Both President Gerald Ford and comedian Bob Hope were born Leslie, while Gone With The Wind actor Leslie Howard was actually born Laszlo, according to some sources.
As of October 2026, Leslie ranked #3563 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #81 in 1895, Nameberry popularity #848.
Editor's take: The name Leslie is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "garden of holly".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,222 | 61 | 31.8 |
| 2015 | #2,338 | 56 | 29.2 |
| 2016 | #2,707 | 45 | 23.7 |
| 2017 | #2,742 | 45 | 24.3 |
| 2018 | #3,080 | 38 | 20.9 |
| 2019 | #2,609 | 50 | 27.9 |
| 2020 | #3,979 | 26 | 15.1 |
| 2021 | #3,461 | 33 | 18.9 |
| 2022 | #3,503 | 33 | 18.9 |
| 2023 | #3,092 | 40 | 23.4 |
| 2024 | #3,016 | 41 | 23.8 |
| 2025 | #3,563 | 32 | 18.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Leslie.
- Frederik
- Gerald
- Irwin
- Maurice
- Karl
- Milton
- Leroy
- Chadwick
- Stuart
- Claud
- Pierre
- Roderick
- Benedick
- Carleton
- Hans
- Rudolph
- Christiansen
- Melvin
- Buchanan
- Maximillian
Leslie on lists
Famous Leslies
- Leslie Howard (born László Howard Steiner)
English actor
- Leslie William Nielsen
Canadian,American actor
- Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope
English,born American actor and comedian
- Leslie Lynch King Jr.
birth name of US President Gerald Ford
- Leslie Richard Groves
Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer who constructed the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project
- Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat
former President of Haiti
- Leslie Cheung (Kwok
wing), Hong Kong singer and actor
- Leslie James Morshead
Australian army general
- Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool
American singer and bassist of Primus
- Leslie Roy "Les" Moonves
American CEO of CBS
- Leslie Odom
Jr., American actor and singer
- Leslie Edward Pridgen aka Freeway
American rapper
- Leslie "Les" Aspin
Jr., U.S. Congressman and presidential adviser
- Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard
American actor and director
- Leslie David Baker
American actor ("The Office")
Leslie in pop culture
- Leslie Withers
character in the game "The Evil Within"
- "The Great Leslie" Gallant
character in the film "The Great Race"
- Leslie Barbara
character in the "Police Academy" Film series
- Leslie
character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland"