Henslie
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the high meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Henslie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Henslie today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Henslie births was 2018 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Henslie. 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 Henslie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
2018
10 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,609
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Henslie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Henslie from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Henslie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Henslie 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 Henslie 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 Henslie
The given name Henslie is an English name with roots tracing back to the early medieval period. It is a combination of the old English words 'henn' meaning 'fowl' or 'chicken' and 'ley' meaning 'clearing' or 'meadow'. The name likely originated as a surname for someone who lived near a clearing where chickens or fowl were kept.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Henslie dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as the surname 'Hensleigh'. This document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, was a survey of land and property ownership in England at the time.
In the 13th century, there is a record of a Sir Henslie de Montfort, a knight who fought alongside Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Lewes in 1264 during the Second Barons' War. De Montfort was a prominent figure in this conflict, which saw a challenge to the authority of King Henry III.
Another notable bearer of the name was Henslie Cromwell, a distant cousin of Oliver Cromwell who lived from 1592 to 1668. He was a member of the English gentry and served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, Henslie Fielding (1707-1754) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for his satirical works such as 'The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'. He was also a magistrate and an influential figure in the development of the English novel.
During the Victorian era, Henslie Kingsley (1819-1875) was a renowned English novelist and traveler. She is particularly remembered for her explorations and writings on West Africa, where she lived for several years.
While the name Henslie was more common as a surname in the past, its use as a given name has been relatively rare throughout history. However, its unique blend of old English roots and connection to the natural world has given it a distinctive character.
People
Henslie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Henslie 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
Henslie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Henslie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Henslie 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Henslie a common name?
We classify Henslie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Henslie most popular?
The single biggest year for Henslie was 2018, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Henslie is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Henslie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Henslie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Henslie 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 Henslie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Henslie 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 Henslie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Henslie?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.