Leslie

/ˈlɛzli/

//ˈlɛzli// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"leslie" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Leslie” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,311. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,311
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leslie · Leslie · English

Leslie · rank #8,311 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,311
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leagues

Nearest frequency peer: leagues (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Leslie”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Leslie” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Leslie vs Lexie
67% similar
Leslie vs lisle
50% similar
Leslie vs lessee
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Leslie
PropertyValue
HeadwordLeslie
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈlɛzli/
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,311
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Leslie”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Leslielands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “leagues” (#8,310), “lasts” (#8,309), “literacy” (#8,313). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “Leslie” is #8,311. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Leslie (IPA /ˈlɛzli/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #8,311 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Leslie, with forms such as "elslie", "lelsie", and "lesile". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Lexie", "lisle", "lessee", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”). The correct English form is Leslie, spelled L-E-S-L-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  2. 2
    A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. 3
    A female given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.
  4. 4
    A hamlet in Aberdeenshire council area, Scotland, south-west of Insch (OS grid ref NJ5924).
  5. 5
    A large village in Fife council area, Scotland, west of Glenrothes (OS grid ref NO2401).
  6. 6
    A special service area in the Rural Municipality of Elfros No. 307, Saskatchewan, Canada.
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
  11. 11
    A number of places in the United States:
  12. 12
    A number of places in the United States:
  13. 13
    A number of places in the United States:
  14. 14
    A town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Leslie appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 'Leslie with an "ie",' she had to tell everyone in England because they spelt it with a 'y'. 'Really?' Dominic's mother said, as if Leslie herself was a spelling mistake.

Etymology

From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”).

This word in other languages

Leslie(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elslie
  • lelsie
  • lesile
  • leslei
  • lesllie
  • lesslie
  • lleslie
  • lselie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Leslie - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

elslie2lelsie2lesile2leslei2lesllie1lesslie1lleslie1lselie2
Edit distance from "Leslie"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Leslie"?
"Leslie" is spelled L-E-S-L-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlɛzli/.
What does "Leslie" mean?
As a proper noun, "Leslie" means: A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
What words are commonly confused with "Leslie"?
"Leslie" is commonly confused with "Lexie", "lisle", "lessee". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Leslie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Leslie" is /ˈlɛzli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Leslie"?
From a placename in Aberdeenshire, originally Lesslyn, Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann (“garden of hollies”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Leslie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

peanut#8,327Gibson#8,293framed#8,289esteem#8,282

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

fucks8 variantsscrap8 variantsducks8 variantsshaft8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list