Leslie

Les·lie
L1E1S1L1I1E1
/ˈlɛzli//ˈlɛsli/

proper noun

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

CommonScrabble 6

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Lesley

  1. A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. A female given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.

    'Leslie with an "ie",' she had to tell everyone in England because they spelt it with a 'y'. 'Really?' Dominic's mother said, as if Leslie herself was a spelling mistake.

    2010, Kate Atkinson, Started Early, took My Dog, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 19
  4. A hamlet in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland, south-west of Insch (OS grid ref NJ5924).
  5. A large village in Fife council area, Scotland, west of Glenrothes (OS grid ref NO2401).
  6. A special service area in the Rural Municipality of Elfros No. 307, Saskatchewan, Canada.
  7. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A township and city therein, in Ingham County, Michigan.
  8. A town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa.

Origin

  1. Scottish Gaeliclios cuileann“garden of hollies”
  2. EnglishLeslie

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto Lesli
  • Leslifemale given name
French Leslie
  • Lesliefemale given name
Greek Λέσλι
  • Λέσλι (Lésli)female given name
Japanese レスリー
  • レスリー (Resurī)female given name
Russian Ле́сли
  • Ле́сли (Lésli)female given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

Leslie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leslie

MLA

“Leslie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leslie. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Leslie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Leslie.

Source: Leslie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.