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Lesley-Anne

Girl name · 175 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Lesley-Anne: 175 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 20 births in 1979.

Lesley-Anne is a charming Scottish double-barrel name that combines Lesley, derived from a Scottish surname meaning "garden of holly" from the Gaelic *leas* (fort/garden) and *liath* (grey), with Anne—the French form of Hannah, meaning "grace" or "favour" from the Hebrew *ḥannāh*. The most famous bearer is Scottish actress Lesley-Anne Down (born 1954), starred in *Upstairs, Downstairs* and *The Bold and the Beautiful*, but she herself uses the spelling Lesley-Anne for her first name. No specific Scottish place carries the exact compound, though Lesley shares its root with Leslie, a town in Fife, Scotland. A fun note: this name saw its peak Scottish popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the era's fondness for hyphenated given names that honour family connections.

Girl 18 of 52 years

Peak year
197920 babies
Latest (1993)
#6233 babies
Total births
175since 1975
5-year trend
▼ 41%vs prior 5y
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1979 · 20
Births per year in Scotland. Missing years had a count of 2 or fewer (suppressed by NRS).