# Wesley

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈwɛsli/ · frequency rank #11,323

## Definitions
1. A habitational surname from Old English.
2. John Wesley, founder of Methodism.
3. A male given name transferred from the surname, of 18th century and later usage, today often without any religious connotations.
4. A place in the United States:
5. A place in the United States:
6. A place in the United States:
7. A place in the United States:
8. A place in the United States:
9. A place in the United States:
10. A place in the United States:
11. A place in the United States:
12. A place in the United States:
13. A hamlet in Stone Mills, Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada.
14. A village in north-east Dominica.
15. A southern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.
16. A town in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.

## Etymology
Several places in England, from Old English west (“west”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to west + -ley (“lea”).

## Easily confused with
- **Wiley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wesley-vs-wiley)
- **Wessex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wesley-vs-wessex)
- **Wexler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wesley-vs-wexler)
- **Willey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wesley-vs-willey)
- **Wesleyan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wesley-vs-wesleyan)
- **Welles** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/welles-vs-wesley)
- **weller** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weller-vs-wesley)
- **Wembley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wembley-vs-wesley)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ewsley`, `welsey`, `wesely`, `wesleyy`, `weslley`, `weslye`, `wessley`, `wseley`, `wwesley`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wesley