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Home › Baby Names Directory › Lesslie

Lesslie

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Lesslie

Pronounced LESS-lee /ˈlɛsli/Medium

Meaning: Lesslie is a respelling, with a doubled s, of Leslie, a Scottish surname and place-name. It is usually read as 'garden of holly' or, by another reading, 'grey fortress', from Gaelic elements. Leslie has served both sexes, tilting female in America in recent decades. The extra s in Lesslie does not change the meaning; it reads as a variant spelling of the standard name.Low

In 30 seconds: Lesslie is a respelling of Leslie, a Scottish name meaning 'garden of holly' or 'grey fortress'. It stayed rare in the United States (said LESS-lee).
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Origin LowScottish, Gaelic
MeaningLesslie is a respelling, with a doubled s, of Leslie, a Scottish surname and place-name. It is usually read as 'garden of holly' or, by another reading, 'grey fortress', from Gaelic elements. Leslie has served both sexes, tilting female in America in recent decades. The extra s in Lesslie does not change the meaning; it reads as a variant spelling of the standard name.
U.S. rank (2019)#13214 ↗ Rising
2019 U.S. births7 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2002
Total births (all-time)≈ 499

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 200319572019

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Lesslie is a variant of Leslie, a Scottish surname and place-name usually explained as 'garden of holly' or 'grey fortress'. Leslie moved from surname to given name and, in America, increasingly to girls through the later twentieth century. This doubled-s spelling is a minor variant that trailed the more common forms.

This spelling was never common, appearing for only a couple of dozen girls a year around its high point in the early two-thousands. A girl given it then is in her twenties now. It reads as an of-its-moment respelling of a long-established name.

Did you know? Behind the double s, Lesslie is Leslie, a Scottish surname read as 'garden of holly', a name that has crossed freely between girls and boys.
Overall data confidence 40%
References - Lesslie / Leslie — Respelling of Leslie, Scottish 'garden of holly'/'grey fortress'

Variations

LeslieLesleyLezlieLeslee

Nicknames

LesLeeLessie

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Lesslie…

Leslie— the standard spelling this varies
Lesley— a like traditional form of the name
Leslee— a like -ee respelling in sound
Paisley— another Scottish place-name girl's name in feel

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Lesslie mean?

It is a form of Leslie, a Scottish name meaning 'garden of holly' or 'grey fortress'.

How do you pronounce Lesslie?

It's said LESS-lee /ˈlɛsli/, two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Lesslie a boy or girl name?

Lesslie is used here as a girl's name, though the parent Leslie has been used for both.

Is Lesslie a popular name?

No, this spelling has always been rare; the standard Leslie was the popular form.

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