How Many People Are Named Lesley?
An estimated 33,062 people in the United States have the first name Lesley. It is used for both genders, with 87.7% female. The average bearer is 46 years old, and Lesley peaked in popularity in 1980 with 981 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Lesley as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Lesley paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Lesley has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
Estimated Living Americans
33,062
About 1 in 10,367 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
87.7% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1980
981 births
Total Registered
39,070
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Lesley
Lesley is predominantly female (87.7%), though 4,798 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Lesley as a male name
Ranked #9,357 in 2016
8 male births in 2016
Peak: 1958 (102 births)
Lesley as a female name
Ranked #4,074 in 2024
36 female births in 2024
Peak: 1980 (928 births)
Lesley: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Lesley span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 8,348 babies were registered. Lesley has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Lesley by Decade
How has Lesley tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 11 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 23 | 18 | 5 | |
| 1900s | 74 | 74 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 325 | 260 | 65 | |
| 1920s | 571 | 459 | 112 | |
| 1930s | 582 | 363 | 219 | |
| 1940s | 2,053 | 630 | 1,423 | |
| 1950s | 3,934 | 809 | 3,125 | |
| 1960s | 5,985 | 848 | 5,137 | |
| 1970s | 8,348 | 629 | 7,719 | |
| 1980s | 6,781 | 376 | 6,405 | |
| 1990s | 4,831 | 193 | 4,638 | |
| 2000s | 4,223 | 100 | 4,123 | |
| 2010s | 1,123 | 28 | 1,095 | |
| 2020s | 206 | 0 | 206 | |
Lesley by State
Birth registrations for Lesley span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, North Dakota, Vermont. On average, about 629 Lesleys were registered per state.
Lesley + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Lesley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Lesley
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Lesley: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lesley?
We estimate approximately 33,062 people named Lesley are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 10,367 Americans share this first name.
Is Lesley a common name?
Lesley is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 39,070 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Lesley most popular?
Lesley reached peak popularity in 1980, when 981 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Lesley is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Lesley a female name?
Lesley is predominantly female. 87.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Lesley Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Lesley Smith, Lesley Johnson, Lesley Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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