Wesley

“Western meadow (clearing to the west)” — Old English origin

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

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. Wes is a short form of Wesley.

Around the world: #40 in Canada (2024).

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

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 — Star Trek · Vectors
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Angel
Wesley Gibson — Wanted · Big Game

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).

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

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

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