Leslie
Meaning
from a Scottish place name and surname, possibly 'garden of hollies'; famously borne by Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, one of Hong Kong's most storied English names
The story
Leslie began in Scotland as a place name and clan surname, traditionally read as garden of hollies, though the old etymology is uncertain. It crossed into first-name use in the nineteenth century, and in America it made the slow journey so many surnames make, drifting from mostly male to mostly female over the twentieth century, with its strongest run coming in the 1960s and 70s before a long fade. Half a world away, the name found its most luminous bearer: Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, the Hong Kong singer and actor who chose it for its elegant, androgynous sound, and whose Cantopop records and films, Farewell My Concubine above all, made Leslie one of Hong Kong's most storied English names. That androgynous grace is the thread through the whole story: a name that never quite belonged to one sex, one country, or one kind of fame.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Leslie peaked in the 1960s and the 1980s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,453 people · the #6,405 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 142,857 · median age 40
Among people named Leslie living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 21 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Leslie
People given the name Leslie in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Leslie deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Leslie truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Leslie fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Leslie travels
Cantonese and Hong Kong · A storied English choice in Hong Kong, strongly associated with singer and actor Leslie Cheung.
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