Unisex name · since 1880
Leslie
Leslie has 270,429 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1957 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #149 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #713 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 270,429
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
270,429 babies have been named Leslie since 1880, making it today's #713 unisex name.
Leslie has 270,429 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #713 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #149 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #713 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 270,429 born since 1880
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Leslie ranks #149 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #713 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 270,429 born since 1880, peaking in the 1960s.
- #149 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #713 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 270,429
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Leslie's 270,429 recorded births place it above 99.79% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Leslie compares
270,429 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Leslie's all-time total is 719x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Leslie | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 270,429 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 6,103 | 21 | 19,840 |
Leslie's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Leslie's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 90% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 10%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1883, with only 7 births recorded -- set against the 1957 peak of 6,103, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Leslie popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1957)
- 6,103
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Leslie popularity over time - boys
112,989 total births recorded since 1880 (Leslie as boys' name)
Leslie by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (54,453 births, 20% of the file).
1960s was Leslie's strongest decade.
54,453 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Leslie births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 126
1880s
126 births
- 1890s 257
1890s
257 births
- 1900s 324
1900s
324 births
- 1910s 785
1910s
785 births
- 1920s 1,241
1920s
1,241 births
- 1930s 1,447
1930s
1,447 births
- 1940s 14,856
1940s
14,856 births
- 1950s
1950s
43,049 births
- 1960s
1960s
54,453 births
- 1970s
1970s
44,839 births
- 1980s
1980s
38,729 births
- 1990s
1990s
26,769 births
- 2000s
2000s
31,055 births
- 2010s 9,752
2010s
9,752 births
- 2020s 2,747
2020s
2,747 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 54,453 births (20% of all-time use).
How Leslie compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Leslie's total volume
Leslie by state
Where Leslie concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 43,411 | 16.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 26,884 | 9.9% |
| #3 | New York | | 19,169 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 13,153 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 10,817 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 10,533 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Florida | | 8,048 | 3.0% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 7,932 | 2.9% |
43,411 of 270,429 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Leslie appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Leslie's data
- Leslie's decade-level peak was the 1960s (54,453 total births); usage has since declined to 2,747 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Leslies (43,411 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Leslie
Nearby Names Like Leslie
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Leslie
Compare Leslie side by side: Leslie vs Lesley Leslie vs Lesly Leslie vs Lessie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Leslie
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Leslie: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1957)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Leslie draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.