Bentleigh
From a meadow or clearing by a beacon.
Name Census estimates that about 607 living Americans carry the first name Bentleigh. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 90.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Bentleigh today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bentleigh births was 2011 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bentleigh. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
607
~ 1 in 564,669 Americans
Peak year
2011
71 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2017 SSA rank
#8,503
Tracked since 2004
Gender
Gender distribution for Bentleigh
Bentleigh leans heavily female at 90.0% of total registrations, but 61 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Bentleigh as a male name
- Ranked #8,945 in 2017
- 8 male births in 2017
- Peak: 2011 (11 births)
Bentleigh as a female name
- Ranked #8,503 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (60 births)
Popularity
Bentleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bentleigh from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 501 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bentleigh by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bentleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bentleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Georgia recorded the most babies named Bentleigh, while Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bentleigh
The name Bentleigh is of English origin and is believed to have emerged in the 17th century. It is derived from the Old English words "beonet" meaning "bent grass" and "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a particular place or settlement where bent grass grew in a meadow.
Bentleigh gained popularity as a given name in the English-speaking world, particularly in Britain and its colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Islington, London, where a Bentleigh Wilkins was baptized in 1673.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was Bentleigh Strachey (1717-1801), an English clergyman and writer who served as a prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral. His grandson, Bentleigh Trevelyan (1838-1909), was a British civil servant and author who wrote extensively on Indian affairs.
The 19th century saw the rise of Bentleigh Haviland (1815-1873), a renowned English architect known for his work on churches and public buildings. Another notable figure was Bentleigh Wordsworth (1849-1923), a British mountaineer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Himalayas and wrote extensively about his travels.
In the 20th century, Bentleigh Cummings (1901-1987) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Labor Party. He was known for his advocacy of workers' rights and social welfare policies.
Despite its English roots, the name Bentleigh has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, perhaps drawn to its unique sound and historical connections. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, lending it a distinct character and charm.
People
Bentleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bentleigh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bentleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bentleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 607 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bentleigh going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 564,669 US residents.
Is Bentleigh a common name?
We classify Bentleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 612 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bentleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Bentleigh was 2011, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bentleigh is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bentleigh a female name?
Yes, 90.0% of people registered as Bentleigh in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.