Wesley

What Wesley means

Means “west + wood, clearing”

Several places in England, from Old English west (“west”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Wesley” (revision 92715476), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Wesley?

US: Rising: up from #126 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #526 in 2015, #539 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 5,578 boys got the name (#52 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 306 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,777 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (14.68 per 1,000 boys), NH (12.66 per 1,000 boys), ME (11.97 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Wesley is #52 in the US and #539 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.2% of US babies named Wesley were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Weslee51 US
• Wesly13 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Wes

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Wesley

Boys

• Sterling#345Variant of Stirling, possibly meaning “stream + pool, lake”^*
• Wade#344“a ford”^*
• Wallace#960“foreign”^*
• Ridge#529From the word “ridge”^*
• Franklin#359“freeholder”^*
• Calvin#132“bald”^*

For a sister

• Murphy#397“descendant of Murrough”^*
• Fallon#778“descendant of Fallamhan”^*
• Darcy#857“to burn, consume”^*
• Blake#295“black”^*
• Kori#978Form of Corey, possibly meaning “troop, host, company”^*
• Merritt#703Editor’s note Used for both: 77% of US babies named Merritt in 2025 were girls

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Wesley’s. Rank is US 2025.