Wesley

Meaning: Western meadow (clearing to the west)
Origin: Old English

Nicknames: Wes

Boy's name · #52 in the US (2025) · Trending

98% boys · 2% girls — Wesley is also given to girls: 101 in 2025, about 1 in 45 in recent years. Wesley →

Popularity over time

Wesley is moving up the charts. First recorded in 1880, it stood at #52 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet; about 248,000 boys have been named Wesley along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

US births of Wesley rose from 1,531 in 1975 to 4,302 in 1977, around the 1976–77 run of ABC’s Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, which featured Wesley Jordache.

Across the states

See where Wesley is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Wesley ranks in other countries and regions.

#269 in New Zealand (2025) · #535 in France (2025) · #547 in England & Wales (2025) · #1,036 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,527 in Switzerland (2025) · #1,555 in Belgium (2025) · #40 in Canada (2024).

Famous Wesleys

Wesley Sneijder — Dutch association football player (born 1984)
Wesley Snipes — American actor (born 1962)
Wesley Clark — United States Army general and 2004 Democratic Party presidential candidate
Wesley Fofana — French footballer (born 2000)
Wesley So — Filipino-American chess player

In stories & tradition

Wesley Crusher — Vectors (book)
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)
Wesley Gibson^it — Wanted (film)

What Wesleys become

Among 629 notable people named Wesley:

Sports figures appear 1.93× more often than among typical names — e.g. Wesley Sneijder, Dutch association football player (born 1984).

Spellings & nicknames

About 320 boys a year are given Wes as their full name.

Similar names: Myles · Weston · Eli · Waylon · Graham · Wyatt

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service