Leslie Nielsen
There are approximately 40 people named Leslie Nielsen living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 8,568,858 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Leslie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Nielsen. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
40
1 in 8,568,858
Named Leslie
283K
Alive today
Named Nielsen
49K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 283K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1957
Average age: 51
Top Census group: White (65.6%)
Estimated bearers: 49K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #796
Per 100K: 14.23
Top ancestry: White (91.1%)
First name trend
Leslie: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Leslie. The peak year was 1957 with 8,199 births. The average person named Leslie today is 51 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leslie
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Leslie, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 65.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Leslie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Leslie at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White65.6% · 190,537
- Hispanic or Latino21.3% · 61,845
- Black or African American8.2% · 23,789
- Two or more races2.3% · 6,780
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 5,545
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2,000
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Nielsen surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Nielsen, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 91.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Nielsen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Nielsen at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White91.1% · 38,752
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 1,637
- Two or more races3.1% · 1,324
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 437
- Black or African American0.5% · 192
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 178
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Leslie has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0827% of the US population, based on 283,420 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Leslie right now.
The surname Nielsen appears at a rate of 14.23 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0142%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 40 people with the full name Leslie Nielsen. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Leslie
Related
Other people with the surname Nielsen
FAQ
Leslie Nielsen: questions and answers
How many people are named Leslie Nielsen?
We estimate approximately 40 people in the United States share the full name Leslie Nielsen. That works out to about 1 in 8,568,858 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0827%) with the surname frequency (14.23 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Leslie Nielsen?
We classify Leslie Nielsen as "Very Rare". About 1 in 8,568,858 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Leslie a male or female name?
Leslie is predominantly unisex. Out of 382,987 total SSA registrations, 29.5% were male and 70.5% were female. See the full Leslie profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Leslie Nielsen?
You can see how common the name Leslie Nielsen is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.