# Leslie (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/leslie/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 25,078 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,417 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,311 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (24,266 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɛzli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Lesley |

## Etymology

From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Leslie in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 73% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 19% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Leslie in the United States, Ireland, Belize and the United Kingdom.

## People named Leslie

- Lisa Leslie, American basketball player (born 1972)
- Joan Leslie, American actress (1925-2015)
- John Leslie, American pornographic actor and film director (1945-2010)
- Conor Leslie, American actress
- Bethel Leslie, American actress (1929-1999)
- Frederick W. Leslie, American astronaut
- Ryan Leslie, American singer, songwriter and record producer
- Javicia Leslie, American actress
- Nan Leslie, American actress (1926-2000)
- Gladys Leslie, American actress (1899-1976)
- Travis Leslie, American basketball player (born 1990)
- Shane Leslie, Anglo-Irish nationalist writer

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Lesley, Loiselle, Lisle, Lashley, Lasley, Lasalle, Lockley, Lasala, Laswell, Laszlo.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.