Eslie
Of disputed meaning, potentially a diminutive form of Elizabeth or Elspeth.
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Eslie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Eslie today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eslie births was 1919 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eslie. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eslie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1919
10 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
1947 SSA rank
#3,909
Tracked since 1915
Census
Eslie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 223 people with the first name Eslie, which placed it at #35,856 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#35,856
National first-name rank
People counted
223
223 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eslie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eslie is Hispanic at 42.6%. The next largest groups are White (36.3%) and Black (13.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eslie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eslie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.6% · 95
- White36.3% · 81
- Black or African American13.0% · 29
- Two or more races3.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Eslie
Eslie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 120 total registrations, 60 (50.0%) were male and 60 (50.0%) were female.
Eslie as a male name
- Ranked #3,909 in 1947
- 5 male births in 1947
- Peak: 1919 (10 births)
Eslie as a female name
- Ranked #15,973 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eslie on both sides of the split. Of the 217 people counted with this name, 72 were male (33.2%) and 145 were female (66.8%).
Popularity
Eslie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eslie from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Eslie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eslie 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 Eslie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eslie
The name Eslie is a rare and intriguing moniker with an enigmatic origin. Its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was likely derived from the Old French name Esleie or the Anglo-Norman name Eslie. These names are believed to have stemmed from the Germanic root "asal," meaning "divine strength" or "noble."
Eslie may also have connections to the Old English name Æsliċ, which was derived from the elements "æsc" (ash tree) and "līc" (body or form), suggesting a potential link to nature and physical beauty. This theory is supported by the fact that many Germanic names often incorporated elements from the natural world.
While there are no definitive historical references to the name Eslie in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it did make occasional appearances in medieval records and chronicles. One of the earliest recorded instances was Eslie de Montfort, a noble woman who lived in the 12th century and was a member of the influential Montfort family in France.
In the centuries that followed, the name Eslie remained relatively obscure, but it was occasionally bestowed upon individuals from various walks of life. One notable figure was Eslie Cauvin (1592-1659), a French playwright and poet who gained recognition for his satirical works during the Baroque period.
Another historical figure bearing the name Eslie was Eslie Naudé (1738-1818), a South African explorer and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of the Cape flora and fauna. His detailed accounts and illustrations of the region's biodiversity were highly influential at the time.
In the 19th century, Eslie Inglis (1824-1892), a Scottish missionary and educator, left a lasting impact through her work in establishing schools and promoting education in India. Her efforts helped pave the way for greater educational opportunities for women in the region.
Lastly, Eslie Asbury (1869-1945), an American Methodist minister and evangelist, became known for his dynamic preaching style and his role in the early 20th-century Holiness movement. His passionate sermons attracted large crowds and inspired many followers.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the unique name Eslie, each leaving their own mark on their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience.
People
Eslie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eslie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eslie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eslie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eslie 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Eslie a common name?
We classify Eslie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eslie most popular?
The single biggest year for Eslie was 1919, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eslie is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eslie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 223 people with the name Eslie, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,856 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eslie in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eslie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Eslie on both sides of the split. Of the 217 people counted with this name, 72 were male (33.2%) and 145 were female (66.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eslie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eslie is Hispanic at 42.6%. The next largest groups are White (36.3%) and Black (13.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eslie most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Eslie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.6% (95 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eslie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eslie a female name?
Yes, 50.0% of people registered as Eslie 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.
Is Eslie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eslie in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eslie can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Eslie as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.