Weslie
A variation of the English name Wesley, meaning "Western meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 799 living Americans carry the first name Weslie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Weslie today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Weslie births was 2024 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Weslie. 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
- • Weslie started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
799
~ 1 in 428,979 Americans
Peak year
2024
88 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,261
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Weslie
Weslie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 937 total registrations, 387 (41.3%) were male and 550 (58.7%) were female.
Weslie as a male name
- Ranked #14,109 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1927 (11 births)
Weslie as a female name
- Ranked #2,261 in 2024
- 83 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (83 births)
Popularity
Weslie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Weslie from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 289 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
Weslie 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 Weslie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Weslies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Utah, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Weslie, while Nebraska, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Weslie
The name Weslie has its origins in the Old English language and is believed to have derived from the word "west," which referred to the cardinal direction. It is likely that the name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived in the western part of a settlement or region.
In the early medieval period, the name Weslie began to gain popularity as a given name among the Anglo-Saxon population. It was particularly common in the regions that now make up parts of England and Scotland. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 9th century, appearing in various historical documents and records.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Weslie was a monk named Weslie of Lindisfarne, who lived in the late 8th century. He is believed to have been an influential figure in the Northumbrian monastic community and played a role in the preservation of religious texts and manuscripts during the Viking invasions.
In the 11th century, a nobleman named Weslie of Mercia was a prominent figure in the English court of King Edward the Confessor. He is noted in historical accounts for his role in mediating disputes between the king and his nobles.
During the 12th century, a scholar and philosopher named Weslie of Oxford gained recognition for his contributions to the study of logic and metaphysics. His works were widely read and discussed in the academic circles of the time.
In the 14th century, a knight named Sir Weslie Mortimer fought alongside King Edward III in the Hundred Years' War against France. He is said to have distinguished himself in several battles and was awarded lands and titles for his valor.
Another notable bearer of the name was Weslie Chaucer, a 15th-century English poet and author. Although not as renowned as his father, Geoffrey Chaucer, Weslie Chaucer is known for his contributions to the development of English literature during the late Middle Ages.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Weslie. While the name has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the Old English language and its association with the western direction or location.
People
Weslie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Weslie 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
Weslie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Weslie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 799 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Weslie 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 428,979 US residents.
Is Weslie a common name?
We classify Weslie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 937 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Weslie most popular?
The single biggest year for Weslie was 2024, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Weslie is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Weslie a female name?
Yes, 58.7% of people registered as Weslie 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.