Wes
A short English masculine name derived from the Middle English wease meaning "west".
Name Census estimates that about 5,854 living Americans carry the first name Wes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wes today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wes births was 2024 (345 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wes. 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
5.9K
~ 1 in 58,550 Americans
Peak year
2024
345 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#744
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Wes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wes from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,454 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
Wes 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 Wes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wes' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Wes, while Nevada, Kentucky, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 88 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wes
The name Wes is a diminutive form of the name Wesley, which is derived from the Old English words "west" and "leah," meaning "west meadow." The name is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Wesley can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript recording landowners in England in 1086. The name was spelled "Wesleie" and referred to a location in Buckinghamshire, England.
In the 17th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of the Methodist movement within the Church of England. Wesley was a prolific writer, preacher, and organizer, and his influence helped spread the name throughout the English-speaking world.
Another notable figure with the name Wes was Wes Montgomery (1923-1968), an American jazz guitarist widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. His unique style and innovative techniques influenced countless musicians and helped shape the sound of modern jazz.
In the realm of politics, Wes Watkins (1928-2015) was a prominent American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma for nearly two decades, from 1977 to 1991.
The name Wes has also been borne by notable authors, such as Wes Craven (1939-2015), the American filmmaker and writer best known for his horror films, including "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and the "Scream" franchise.
Wes Moore (born 1978) is an American author, social entrepreneur, and television producer who has written several books, including "The Other Wes Moore," which explores the divergent paths taken by two men with the same name.
While the name Wes is most commonly associated with the English-speaking world, it has also found its way into other cultures and languages, often as a shortened form of longer names or as an independent given name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Wes
People
Wes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wes 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
Wes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,854 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wes 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 58,550 US residents.
Is Wes a common name?
We classify Wes as "Rare". It ranks above 96.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,408 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wes most popular?
The single biggest year for Wes was 2024, when 345 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wes is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wes 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.