Chesleigh
An English feminine name derived from a surname meaning "meadow of chestnuts".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Chesleigh. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Chesleigh today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chesleigh births was 2017 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chesleigh. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Chesleigh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
2017
10 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
1922 SSA rank
#4,411
Tracked since 1921
Gender
Gender distribution for Chesleigh
Chesleigh is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 48 total registrations, 10 (20.8%) were male and 38 (79.2%) were female.
Chesleigh as a male name
- Ranked #4,411 in 1922
- 5 male births in 1922
- Peak: 1921 (5 births)
Chesleigh as a female name
- Ranked #12,410 in 2020
- 7 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2017 (10 births)
Popularity
Chesleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chesleigh from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 31 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chesleigh by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chesleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chesleigh
The given name Chesleigh is believed to have its origins in Old English, derived from the words "cese" meaning cheese and "leah" meaning meadow or clearing. It is thought to have emerged as a surname in the early medieval period, referring to someone who lived or worked near a cheese meadow or a clearing where cheese was produced.
During the Middle Ages, many surnames gradually transitioned into use as given names, particularly among the lower classes and in rural areas. Chesleigh likely followed this pattern, with families adopting the name as a way to honor their ancestral ties or occupations.
The earliest documented instances of Chesleigh as a given name can be traced back to the late 15th century in various parish records and court documents from the English counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. However, its usage remained relatively obscure and primarily confined to these regions until the 18th and 19th centuries.
One of the earliest notable individuals recorded with the name Chesleigh was Chesleigh Molyneaux, a minor landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Naunton, Gloucestershire, in the late 16th century. Records indicate that he was actively involved in the local cheese-making industry.
Another individual of historical significance was Chesleigh Wyndham, a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1785 in Somerset, he participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before his retirement in 1830.
In the realm of literature, Chesleigh Abercrombie was a notable English poet and literary critic during the early 20th century. Born in 1880, he was a prominent figure in the Georgian poetry movement and authored several acclaimed works, including "The Sale of St. Thomas" and "Emblems of Love."
Another individual worthy of mention is Chesleigh Phelan, an American artist and sculptor who lived from 1892 to 1967. Born in New York, she is best known for her bronze and stone sculptures, many of which can be found in public spaces and museums across the United States.
Finally, Chesleigh Harrington, a British entrepreneur and philanthropist, made significant contributions to various charitable organizations throughout his lifetime (1920-2005). He founded the Harrington Foundation, which provided support for educational and healthcare initiatives in underprivileged communities.
People
Chesleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chesleigh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chesleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chesleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chesleigh going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Chesleigh a common name?
We classify Chesleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 48 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chesleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Chesleigh was 2017, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chesleigh is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chesleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chesleigh a female name?
Yes, 79.2% of people registered as Chesleigh in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chesleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chesleigh in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chesleigh can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Chesleigh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.