Leslie

Also French: https://meilleursprenoms.com/popularite-prenom/Leslie

I'm a boy named Leslie and I like it. But people say 'Isn't Leslie a girl's name" I say it could be any gender.

In 2018, 53 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Leslie who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 218th most common female first name for living U.S. citizens.

In 2018, 58 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Leslie who is registered male with the Social Security Administration. It is the 630th most common male first name for living U.S. citizens.

Leslie was originally a male name. Just like the names Marion, Beverly, Shannon and Shirley--all with long histories (many generations) of being male names. When parents give male names to daughters it doesn't take long (a generation or two) before those names begin to be abandoned by parents naming boys and people become attuned to hearing the name as feminine instead of masculine or at the most unisex. I suspect the originally masculine name of Ashley would be considered today by most people as feminine. Remember Ashley Wilks from the book/movie Gone with the Wind, portrayed by the actor Leslie Howard (males for those who don't know). The actor John Wayne's real name was Marion Morrison. My grandfather's name was Beverly handed down the male line for generations. It became the middle name in my father's generation and is now given to girls in our family. You see... it doesn't take long before a name becomes more feminine than masculine.

The most likely reason Leslie started to gain higher usage for girls in the United States and Canada back in the 1940s would be the release of the film noir, The Letter, which was released in November of 1940, starred Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie and nominated for 7 Oscars, including Best Picture.

Leslie was given to 54 boys in America in 2015.

Lesley is used more for females. Leslie is more masculine.

In the U.S., both the LESLIE and LESLEY spellings are considered largely feminine. In Britain, the convention seems to be that the former spelling is used for boys and the latter for girls. I don't believe this is absolute, however, I do recall a British Lesley, telling my ex Leslie (American), "Oh, you spell it the boys' way."

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The etymology of the name seems to be quite vague and certainly disputed. "From the grey fort"? "Small meadow"? You name it. And of course, the pronunciation isn't exactly settled either, with some pronouncing it "LES-lee" and other "LEZ-lee." For a relatively simple and straightforward name, this one raises a lot of questions.