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

Leslie, 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 Leslie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leslie in America

Leslie is the 1417th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leslie surname appeared 25,078 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Leslie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leslie 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 Leslie

The surname Leslie has its origins in Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic words "lios" meaning "garden" or "enclosure" and "lìth" meaning "gray" or "green." This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a gray or green garden or enclosure.

The Leslie family can trace their roots to the lands of Leslyn, near the village of Fettercairn in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The first recorded bearer of the name was Bartholomew de Leslyn, who received a charter for these lands in 1171 from King William the Lion.

The name appears in various historical records, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where several individuals with the surname Leslie are listed as swearing fealty to King Edward I of England. The surname is also found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the 14th century.

One of the earliest prominent members of the Leslie family was Sir Andrew Leslie, who was a Scottish knight and commander in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England in the early 14th century. He fought alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and was instrumental in the Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Another notable figure was Alexander Leslie (1580-1661), a Scottish military commander who played a significant role in the Scottish Civil War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He served as a general in the Scottish Covenanter army and was instrumental in the victory over the Royalists at the Battle of Newburn in 1640.

In the literary world, Frank Leslie (1821-1880) was a Scottish-American publisher and entrepreneur who founded several popular magazines, including Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Leslie include John Leslie (1766-1832), a Scottish mathematician and physicist who made important contributions to the study of heat and the understanding of capillary action, and Lisa Leslie (born 1972), an American former professional basketball player who is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the WNBA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leslie

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

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 Leslie 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 Leslie 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 Leslie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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