Leslie

Scottish
"garden of holly"

Leslie Origin and Meaning

The name Leslie is a boy's name of Scottish origin meaning "garden of holly".

This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley widely used as the feminine variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes.

Trivia tidbit: Both President Gerald Ford and comedian Bob Hope were born Leslie, while Gone With The Wind actor Leslie Howard was actually born Laszlo, according to some sources.

# 875 in the US

Leslie Rank in US Top 1000

# 1142 on Nameberry

Leslie Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Leslie Popularity

Famous People Named Leslie

  • Leslie Howard (born László Howard Steiner)
    English actor
  • Leslie William Nielsen
    Canadian,American actor
  • Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope
    English,born American actor and comedian
  • Leslie Lynch King Jr.
    birth name of US President Gerald Ford
  • Leslie Richard Groves
    Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer who constructed the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project
  • Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat
    former President of Haiti
  • Leslie Cheung (Kwok
    wing), Hong Kong singer and actor
  • Leslie James Morshead
    Australian army general
  • Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool
    American singer and bassist of Primus
  • Leslie Roy "Les" Moonves
    American CEO of CBS
  • Leslie Odom
    Jr., American actor and singer
  • Leslie Edward Pridgen aka Freeway
    American rapper
  • Leslie "Les" Aspin
    Jr., U.S. Congressman and presidential adviser
  • Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard
    American actor and director
  • Leslie David Baker
    American actor ("The Office")

Leslie in Pop Culture

  • Leslie Withers
    character in the game "The Evil Within"
  • "The Great Leslie" Gallant
    character in the film "The Great Race"
  • Leslie Barbara
    character in the "Police Academy" Film series
  • Leslie
    character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland"