# Wesley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/wesley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “west”, “wood”, “clearing”, “lea” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɛsli/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 250,969 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 247,713 / 3,256 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,585, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Several places in England, from Old English west (“west”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to west + -ley (“lea”).

## What it means

Wesley is grouped under forest.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 33 | 4,460 |
| 2012 | 28 | 5,107 |
| 2013 | 27 | 5,139 |
| 2014 | 45 | 3,544 |
| 2015 | 44 | 3,591 |
| 2016 | 64 | 2,736 |
| 2017 | 61 | 2,813 |
| 2018 | 83 | 2,236 |
| 2019 | 65 | 2,679 |
| 2020 | 96 | 1,976 |
| 2021 | 133 | 1,583 |
| 2022 | 129 | 1,647 |
| 2023 | 114 | 1,791 |
| 2024 | 87 | 2,201 |
| 2025 | 101 | 1,926 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,476 | 156 |
| 2012 | 2,649 | 155 |
| 2013 | 2,837 | 139 |
| 2014 | 3,143 | 130 |
| 2015 | 3,233 | 126 |
| 2016 | 3,429 | 117 |
| 2017 | 3,577 | 111 |
| 2018 | 3,628 | 105 |
| 2019 | 3,764 | 99 |
| 2020 | 3,706 | 98 |
| 2021 | 4,216 | 85 |
| 2022 | 4,668 | 70 |
| 2023 | 4,555 | 70 |
| 2024 | 5,162 | 58 |
| 2025 | 5,578 | 52 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 64 | 546 |
| 2012 | 65 | 559 |
| 2013 | 51 | 655 |
| 2014 | 53 | 643 |
| 2015 | 73 | 526 |
| 2016 | 61 | 594 |
| 2017 | 55 | 644 |
| 2018 | 41 | 786 |
| 2019 | 48 | 694 |
| 2020 | 55 | 627 |
| 2021 | 60 | 618 |
| 2022 | 64 | 585 |
| 2023 | 57 | 625 |
| 2024 | 70 | 545 |
| 2025 | 72 | 539 |

## People named Wesley

- Wesley Sneijder, Dutch association football player (born 1984)
- Wesley Snipes, American actor (born 1962)
- Jake Wesley Rogers, American pop musician and songwriter
- John Wesley Powell, American geologist (1834-1902)
- Wesley So, Filipino-American chess player
- Wesley Fofana, French footballer (born 2000)
- Wesley Sonck, Belgian association football player
- John Wesley Shipp, American actor
- Wesley, Brazilian association football player
- Wesley Hoedt, Dutch association football player
- Wesley Ruggles, American film director (1889-1972)
- John Wesley Hyatt, American inventor of plastic (1837-1920)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.