NamePetalNamePetal

Lesley

Lesley is a girl's name of Irish and Celtic origin meaning “garden of hollies.” In 2024 it was given to 36 girls in the United States.

Lesley at a glance

Gender
Girl name
Origin
Irish & Celtic
Meaning
“garden of hollies”
Also spelled
Leslie

About the name Lesley

Lesley belongs to the Irish & Celtic tradition. Its meaning — “garden of hollies” — is the sense carried by its Irish and Celtic roots, and it is the meaning we verified against published sources for this page. It travels in a few spellings: Leslie.

In the United States, Lesley first appears in Social Security records in 1893. It climbed to its best-ever rank of #268 in 1979, and in 2024 36 babies received the name — 34,272 in total since 1880. Those are the official counts, not estimates.

Lesley in US records

First recorded (US)
1893
Best US rank
#268 in 1979
Peak year
1980
Babies named Lesley in 2024
36
Total since 1880
34,272

Spellings & short forms

Leslie

Similar names

More names from the Irish & Celtic shelf:

JenniferIrish and CelticBrendaIrish and CelticCarolynIrish and CelticMeganIrish and CelticBrittanyIrish and CelticAnnieIrish and CelticBonnieIrish and CelticErinIrish and Celtic

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Lesley mean?

Lesley means “garden of hollies” in its Irish and Celtic roots. We check every meaning against published sources before it appears here.

Is Lesley a boy or girl name?

Lesley is a girl name. In 2024, 36 babies received the name in the US.

What origin is the name Lesley?

Lesley comes from the Irish & Celtic tradition. It is also spelled Leslie.

How popular is the name Lesley?

Lesley first appears in US records in 1893. Its best-ever ranking was #268 in 1979, and 36 babies were given the name in 2024.

Share this name

Put the Lesley name card on your own site or blog — free, with the code below. It keeps a small credit link back to this page.

<iframe src="https://namepetal.com/embed/lesley/" width="100%" height="330" style="border:0;max-width:460px" loading="lazy" title="Lesley name card — NamePetal"></iframe>

Card by NamePetal.

Meaning and origin for this page were checked against this source. US popularity figures are from the Social Security Administration's public baby-names data. If you spot an error, write to [email protected] — accuracy is the whole point of this site, and corrections are made fast.