Hensleigh
A masculine English given name meaning "high meadow" or "high clearing".
Name Census estimates that about 87 living Americans carry the first name Hensleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hensleigh today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hensleigh births was 2022 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hensleigh. 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 Hensleigh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
87
~ 1 in 3,939,705 Americans
Peak year
2022
15 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,131
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Hensleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hensleigh from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 55 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hensleigh 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 Hensleigh 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 Hensleigh
The name Hensleigh finds its origins in the Old English language, with roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain between the 5th and 11th centuries. It is a combination of the Old English words "henn," meaning "chicken" or "fowl," and "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing in a forest. The name likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a clearing where chickens were kept or where chickens roosted.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hensleigh can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population records commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Henneslei" and "Henneslegh," indicating its presence among the Anglo-Saxon population of the time.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Hensleigh remained relatively uncommon, but it was not entirely absent from historical records. In the 13th century, a Hensleigh de Montfort was mentioned as a knight in service to Simon de Montfort, a prominent figure during the Second Barons' War in England. Additionally, a Hensleigh Stafford was recorded as a member of the Stafford family, a noble house with roots in the county of Staffordshire.
During the Renaissance period, the name Hensleigh gained some prominence, particularly in literary circles. Hensleigh Woodhouse (1597-1658) was an English poet and translator known for his works such as "The Fawn" and his translations of Horace's odes. Another notable figure was Hensleigh Wedgwood (1803-1891), a renowned English philologist and etymologist who contributed significantly to the study of language and its origins.
In the 19th century, Hensleigh Wedgwood's nephew, also named Hensleigh Wedgwood (1839-1886), was a prominent English literary scholar and poet. He is best known for his critical editions of works by John Milton and his translations of Aeschylus.
Another important figure bearing the name Hensleigh was Hensleigh Wedgwood (1768-1843), a prominent English potter and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the ceramics industry in Staffordshire. He was a member of the renowned Wedgwood family of potters and contributed to the company's success and innovation.
While the name Hensleigh has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has left its mark in various fields, from literature and language studies to industry and warfare. Its origins in Old English and association with the Anglo-Saxon era add a rich layer of historical significance to this unique and distinctive name.
People
Hensleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hensleigh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hensleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hensleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 87 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hensleigh 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 3,939,705 US residents.
Is Hensleigh a common name?
We classify Hensleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 88 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hensleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Hensleigh was 2022, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hensleigh is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hensleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hensleigh 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.