How Many People Are Named Leslie Nielsen?
There are approximately 40 people named Leslie Nielsen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 8,568,858 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Leslie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nielsen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.
Estimated People with This Name
40
1 in 8,568,858 Americans
Combination Rarity
Rare
First Name
View full profileLeslie
Last Name
View full profileNielsen
Leslie: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Leslie. The peak year was 1957 with 8,199 births. The average person named Leslie today is 51 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Leslie
In the 2020 Census, the first name Leslie was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (65.59%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (21.29%) and Black (8.19%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Leslie in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.
Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Leslie rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Nielsen Surname
The surname Nielsen was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.
This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Nielsen in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.
How we calculated this
The first name "Leslie" has an estimated frequency of 0.0827% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Nielsen" appears at a rate of 14.23 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.
We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Leslie are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 40 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Leslie
Other people with the surname Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Leslie Nielsen?
We estimate approximately 40 people named Leslie Nielsen are alive in the United States today. The first name Leslie is shared by 283,420 Americans, and the surname Nielsen is shared by 48,759.
How rare is the name Leslie Nielsen?
This name combination is classified as Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 8,568,858 Americans. The first name Leslie is common and the surname Nielsen is uncommon.
Is Leslie a male or female name?
Leslie is predominantly female, with 29.5% of bearers being male and 70.5% female. It peaked in popularity in 1957 and the average bearer today is 51 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Leslie?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Leslie was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (65.59%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (21.29%) and Black (8.19%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.
Where does this data come from?
First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.
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