Wes vs Westly
American parents have registered 6,786 Weses since 1880, against 941 Westlys. Wes is still ahead, with 376 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Wes Westly
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
Of the 112 years in which either name was published, Wes for 98 years and Westly for 14 years. The lead changed hands 12 times.
8 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Wes | Westly | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 6,786 | 941 |
| Most in one year | 376 | 24 |
| Babies in 2025 | 376 | 15 |
| Estimated living today | 6,100 | 760 |
| Median age today | 14 | 34 |
| Peak year | 2025 | 1980 |
| Best rank | 715th boys | 2,162nd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 715th | 5,861st |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1918 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 6,786 | 0 / 941 |
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 Westlys alive today are over 34; half the Weses are over 14. That is 20 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Wes and Westly.