Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Wesley?
Births per year, rank history and how many Wesleys are alive today.
Wesley (male) is an uncommon boys' name in England and Wales, ranked 539th in 2025 with 72 babies given the name. The name peaked in 1996, when 185 babies were given the name, the 178th most popular that year. It has declined since 1996; the 2025 figure is roughly 39% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years.
The Wesley you are most likely to meet is around 31 years old. Half of all Wesleys born in England and Wales are between 17 and 32, and there are at least 3,800 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 1.2% chance that at least one of them will be called Wesley.
How many babies are named Wesley each year?
Where does Wesley rank among boys' names?
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 Wesley most popular?
Wesley peaked in 1996, when 185 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Wesley?
At least 3,800 people named Wesley born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Wesley?
Most living Wesleys are between 17 and 32; the most common age is about 31.
Is Wesley becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1996 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.