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Leslie is mostly a male name in the UK. I've met quite a few, all called Les, and all over 60 - the only female Leslies I've seen have been actresses Leslie Ash and Leslie Caron.
Lesley used to be quite common on girls here, but I've never seen one under 40, so yes, it does seem pretty dated. I don't think it's awful, but I'm not a fan of it.

I only know two Leslies. One is 30ish, one is 26. One spelled Leslie and one Lesley. As a substitute teacher I've seen bajillions of elementary school kids in the last three years and not one Leslie.

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I have no real feelings on the name either way.

What do you think of Leslie for a girl?
-I think it's all right. It's not the fanciest name in the world, but it's not terrible. It could work in everyday life.

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Does it seem dated to you? How many do you know, and how old are they?
-Yes, it *is* a bit dated. The only Leslie I know is a woman in her early 50's. She and my mother went to high school together.

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Could you see it on a baby? Or could you even see it making a comeback?
-I could see it on a baby, but my immediate thought would be that the parents were using it to honor someone. It's just not a name you hear on little girls these days. As for making a comeback...it probably will in another 10-15 years. I have a theory that all the "mom" names we have now-Leslie, Karen, Nancy, etc.-will make a comeback when today's kids are old enough to have their own children. We recycled our grandmothers' names, so they might do the same, since these would be grandmother names to them. You never know.

I like Leslie. I grew up with a couple of them and it is my cousin's wife's name. She is 43 and beautiful and cool. So it has good connotations to me. I would like to see it come back.

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I like both spellings but prefer Leslie.

It's dated and surnamey, and I don't find it even remotely attractive. I don't know any under 60.

I used to like it, now I hate it. It makes me think of Lindsay Lohan for some reason. I prefer Leslie over Lesley.

I hate it and it's terribly unattractive. It also sounds very dated. I know 3 Lesley Ann 43, Lesleigh Marie 33 and Leslie 34 i once worked with her.

Lesley for a girl; there was a moment in the 1950s when a lot of little Lesley-Anne girls appeared, which I assume was an attempt to make it sound less unisex; also Sally-Anne etc, so the combo was fashionable. But since unisex is viewed more positively now, I don't see why it shouldn't make a comeback ... except that it does sound and look rather like Lindsay, which might make people identify it with that kind of flash-in-the-pan name and avoid it.

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I can see it on a baby very readily!

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Do you pronounce it LEZ-lee or LESS-lee? Where I live it's with a Z sound.

I prefer it for a boy though I'm not overly fond of it for either gender. I spell Leslie for a boy and Lesley for a girl. My grandfather's name is Leslie and my mum's middle name (named after him) is Lesley.

This is one of my most hated names ever. The first syllable sounds like lesbian and the two syllables both starting with the same letter are unattractive. And it is unfeminine. I can't believe anyone uses this name.

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It is dated, but I can still see it on a baby, and think it could make a comeback.

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I've known two, a high school friend of my sister's, and my husband's sister.

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I hate when my mother-in-law criticizes names I like (and once she said she didn't like my name) when she named her daughter LESLIE.

It does seem dated to me. There were two Leslies in my grade (and they were the only Leslie's in my school). I'm friends with one of them, and she says she doesn't really like it (but she doesn't hate it either). Both are 18.

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MNs are Leslie Katherine and Leslie Nicole, if it matters.

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I can't see it making a comeback right now, or any time very soon.

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I'd spell it Leslie. That seems more common.

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This message was edited 10/14/2009, 5:44 PM