Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Leigh?
Births per year, rank history and how many Leighs are alive today.
Leigh (male) is a rare spelling of the boys' name Lee in England and Wales, ranked 5120th in 2024 and given to 3 babies. This spelling of the name peaked in 1984, when around 600 babies were given the name, the 95th most popular that year. It has declined since 1984; the 2024 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 10,000 babies have been named Leigh in England and Wales since 1974. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Across all spellings of the name, the Lee you are most likely to meet is around 51 years old. Half of all Lees born in England and Wales are between 41 and 54, and there are at least 170,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 43% chance that at least one of them will be called Lee.
How many babies are named Leigh each year?
Includes all spellings: Leigh, Lee. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Leigh spelling rank?
Where does the Lee spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Leigh most popular?
The most popular form of the name, Lee, peaked in 1974, when around 7,400 babies in England and Wales were given the name. The Leigh spelling itself peaked in 1984, with around 600 babies.
How many people are called Leigh?
At least 170,000 people named Leigh in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Leigh?
Most living Leighs are between 41 and 54; the most common age is about 51.
Is Leigh becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1974 peak.