[Facts] Leslie
Does anyone know if the name "Leslie" would/could have been used for a girl in the UK in the early 1800's? Or a way to find that out? Thank you!
Replies
Perhaps not in that spelling. In the UK, at least until very recently, most people have thought of the spelling Leslie as being masculine and the spelling Lesley as being feminine. However, many commentators believe that the original impetus for Lesley becoming a regularly used female given name was the poem "Bonnie Lesley" written by the Scottish author Robert Burns, and since he died in 1796, it would seem possible to me to have a girl named Lesley born in the UK in the early 1800s:
http://www.bartleby.com/101/500.html
http://www.bartleby.com/101/500.html
THANK YOU!