Wensley
An English name derived from the combination of two Old English elements: "wen" (hope) and "leah" (meadow).
Name Census estimates that about 79 living Americans carry the first name Wensley. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wensley today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wensley births was 2023 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wensley. 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 Wensley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
79
~ 1 in 4,338,663 Americans
Peak year
2023
17 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,422
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Wensley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wensley 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 56 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
Wensley 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 Wensley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wensleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wensley
The name Wensley has its origins in Old English, derived from the combination of the words "wen" meaning "hill" and "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suggests that the name likely originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, when such descriptive place names were common.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wensley dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a place name referring to a settlement in Yorkshire, England. This indicates that the name was already in use as a topographical descriptor by the late 11th century.
In terms of historical references, the name Wensley doesn't appear to have any significant mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history, including:
1. Wensley Dale (1645-1708), an English scholar and clergyman who served as the rector of Covent Garden in London.
2. Wensley Burdett (1718-1794), a British politician and member of Parliament for Lymington.
3. Wensley Coulson (1844-1919), a British trade unionist and activist for workers' rights.
4. Wensley Hobby (1889-1961), an English cricketer who played for Essex County Cricket Club.
5. Wensley Pithey (1914-1986), a South African novelist and short story writer known for his works exploring themes of rural life and social issues.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples showcase the use of Wensley as a given name across various fields and time periods, ranging from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
It's worth noting that the name Wensley, while not among the most common first names, has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, primarily in English-speaking regions with ties to Anglo-Saxon cultural influences.
People
Wensley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wensley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wensley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wensley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 79 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wensley 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 4,338,663 US residents.
Is Wensley a common name?
We classify Wensley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 80 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wensley most popular?
The single biggest year for Wensley was 2023, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wensley is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wensley a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wensley in the SSA data are male. 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.