Find out how popular the last name Lesley is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lesley.

Lesley, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lesley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lesley in America

Lesley is the 10891st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lesley surname appeared 2,925 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lesley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lesley to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lesley

The surname Lesley has its origins in Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Norman French word "lesselier," meaning "the dweller at the less-enclosed or less-fortified place." The name is thought to have originated in the region of Aberdeenshire, where the Leslies were a prominent family.

The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Chartulary of the Abbey of Lindores, dated around 1195, where a "Norman de Lesselyn" is mentioned. The name also appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.

One of the earliest and most notable bearers of the name was Sir Andrew de Lesly, who fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He was present at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and is believed to have been the inspiration for the character of Sir Andrew Wood in Sir Walter Scott's novel "The Talisman."

Another prominent figure in the Lesley family was George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes (1613-1667), a Scottish nobleman and military commander who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He was later appointed Lord Chancellor of Scotland by King Charles II.

In the 16th century, the name was sometimes spelled as "Leshley" or "Leshlie," reflecting the spelling variations common in that era. One notable example is John Leshley (c. 1527-1596), a Scottish prelate who served as Bishop of Ross and later Bishop of Raphoe in Ireland.

During the 17th century, the Leslies were an influential family in Scotland, holding lands and titles in various regions, including Aberdeenshire and Fife. One prominent figure was John Leslie (1571-1671), a Scottish mathematician and philosopher who was appointed the first Mathematician to the King of Scotland by King Charles I.

In the 18th century, the name gained recognition in the literary world with Charles Leslie (1650-1722), an Irish theologian and controversialist who wrote extensively in defense of the Church of England and the Stuart monarchy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lesley

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lesley.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lesley was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lesley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lesley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lesley, please contact us.

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