Wesley vs Westen
American parents have registered 250,969 Wesleys since 1880, against 1,907 Westens. Wesley is still ahead, with 5,679 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Wesley Westen
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Wesley has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1880 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.
The closest they came was 2013, when Wesley had 2,864 and Westen had 93.
Side by side
| Wesley | Westen | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 250,969 | 1,907 |
| Most in one year | 5,679 | 162 |
| Babies in 2025 | 5,679 | 162 |
| Estimated living today | 195,000 | 1,900 |
| Median age today | 32 | 8 |
| Peak year | 2025 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 52nd boys | 1,235th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 52nd | 1,235th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1980 |
| Girls / boys | 3,256 / 247,713 | 0 / 1,907 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Wesleys alive today are over 32; half the Westens are over 8. That is 24 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Wesley Alaska (1.7×), Hawaii (1.7×), Montana (1.7×)
- Westen Ohio (3.2×), Missouri (3.2×), Texas (2.6×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Wesley and Westen.