Leslea
A feminine name of uncertain meaning and origin, possibly a variant of Leslie.
Name Census estimates that about 303 living Americans carry the first name Leslea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leslea today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leslea births was 1959 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leslea. 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
303
~ 1 in 1,131,202 Americans
Peak year
1959
17 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
1997 SSA rank
#13,046
Tracked since 1951
Popularity
Leslea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leslea from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leslea 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 Leslea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lesleas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Leslea
The name Leslea is an English diminutive form of the name Leslie, which originated from the Scottish surname Lesselyn or Leshelyn. These surnames are derived from the Scottish place name Lesslyn or Leslyn, which refers to a former landed estate and parish located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The place name Lesslyn is believed to have its roots in the Gaelic words "lios" meaning "garden" or "enclosure" and "linn" meaning "pool" or "stream," suggesting it may have originally described a garden or enclosure near a body of water.
The earliest recorded use of the name Leslea dates back to the late 19th century, but it did not gain widespread popularity until the mid-20th century. One of the earliest known individuals with the name Leslea was Leslea M. Brandt (1884-1967), an American educator and author who wrote several books on teaching methods and child development.
In literature, the name Leslea appears in the novel "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers, published in 1940. The character Leslea Watts is a young girl who befriends the novel's protagonist, John Singer.
Another notable individual with the name Leslea was Leslea Newman (born 1955), an American author and editor known for her contributions to LGBTQ literature for children and young adults. Her works include the acclaimed novel "Heather Has Two Mommies" and the poetry collection "Still Life with Buddy."
In the field of music, Leslea Boreyko (born 1975) is a Canadian operatic soprano who has performed with various opera companies around the world, including the Canadian Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera.
Additionally, Leslea Mendell (born 1966) is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur who co-founded the skincare company Caudalie with her husband Bertrand Thomas in 1995. Their company is known for its use of natural ingredients derived from grapes and grapevines.
People
Leslea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leslea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leslea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leslea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 303 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leslea 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 1,131,202 US residents.
Is Leslea a common name?
We classify Leslea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leslea most popular?
The single biggest year for Leslea was 1959, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leslea is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Leslea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leslea 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.