Weslee
Variant spelling of Wesley, a masculine name of English origin meaning "west meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 1,426 living Americans carry the first name Weslee. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Weslee today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Weslee births was 2023 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Weslee. 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
- • Weslee is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 240,361 Americans
Peak year
2023
82 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,586
Tracked since 1976
Census
Weslee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,037 people with the first name Weslee, which placed it at #12,124 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,124
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,037 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weslee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Weslee is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Weslee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Weslee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 796
- Black or African American6.8% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 64
- Two or more races5.3% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 20
Gender
Gender distribution for Weslee
Weslee leans heavily male at 81.6% of total registrations, but 267 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Weslee as a male name
- Ranked #2,586 in 2024
- 52 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (54 births)
Weslee as a female name
- Ranked #6,594 in 2024
- 18 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Weslee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,036 people counted with this name, 822 were male (79.3%) and 214 were female (20.7%).
Popularity
Weslee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Weslee from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 460 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Weslee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Weslee 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 Weslee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Weslees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Weslee, while Missouri, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Weslee
The given name Weslee originates from the Old English language and culture, with roots tracing back to the 5th century CE. It is derived from the Old English words "west" and "leah," which collectively translate to "western meadow" or "western clearing." This name was particularly prevalent among the Anglo-Saxon communities of what is now England during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Weslee can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and populations commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book contains several entries of individuals bearing variations of the name, such as Westleh and Westleah.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Weslee. One of the earliest recorded was Weslee of Malmesbury (c. 1095 - 1142), a renowned English historian and scholar who wrote extensively about the history of the Norman conquest of England. Another prominent individual was Sir Weslee de Montfort (c. 1208 - 1265), a English nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
During the Renaissance era, Weslee Chaucer (c. 1340 - 1400), an English poet and author, gained recognition for his literary works, including the iconic Canterbury Tales. His contributions to English literature and the development of the English language have solidified his legacy as one of the most influential figures of his time.
In the 16th century, Weslee Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), the renowned English playwright and poet, emerged as one of the most celebrated figures in the history of literature. His plays, such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, have transcended time and continue to captivate audiences worldwide.
More recently, Weslee Churchill (1874 - 1965), the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, earned a place in history for his leadership and oratorical skills. His unwavering determination and rousing speeches inspired the British people during one of the nation's darkest hours.
People
Weslee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Weslee 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
Weslee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Weslee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,426 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Weslee 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 240,361 US residents.
Is Weslee a common name?
We classify Weslee as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,448 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Weslee most popular?
The single biggest year for Weslee was 2023, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Weslee is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Weslee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,037 people with the name Weslee, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,124 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Weslee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Weslee?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Weslee on both sides of the split. Of the 1,036 people counted with this name, 822 were male (79.3%) and 214 were female (20.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Weslee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Weslee is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Weslee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Weslee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (796 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Weslee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Weslee a male name?
Yes, 81.6% of people registered as Weslee 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.
Is Weslee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Weslee 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 Weslee 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.
How many people share the name Weslee?
Want to know how many Americans are named Weslee? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.