Preslie vs Preston
American parents have registered 123,757 Prestons since 1880, against 1,765 Preslies. Preston is still ahead, with 1,141 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Preslie Preston
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
Preston 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 2014, when Preslie had 118 and Preston had 2,753.
Side by side
| Preslie | Preston | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,765 | 123,757 |
| Most in one year | 118 | 3,814 |
| Babies in 2025 | 34 | 1,141 |
| Estimated living today | 1,800 | 104,000 |
| Median age today | 14 | 21 |
| Peak year | 2014 | 2007 |
| Best rank | 1,757th girls | 114th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 4,172nd | 299th |
| First recorded | 1990 | 1880 |
| Girls / boys | 1,765 / 0 | 799 / 122,958 |
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 Prestons alive today are over 21; half the Preslies are over 14. That is 7 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Preslie Utah (15.4×), Texas (6.0×), Oklahoma (4.6×)
- Preston Utah (2.8×), Idaho (1.8×), South Carolina (1.7×)
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: Preslie and Preston.