A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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West clearing (Wesley route); west settlement (Weston route).
Wes is documented as a short form of both Wesley and Weston. Wesley traces to Old English west and a wood/clearing word; Weston traces to west and an enclosure/settlement word. These are inherited place-name root accounts, not a single literal translation of modern Wes or a claim about a bearer. The licensed west-meadow account is not imposed on the Weston route.
English diminutive-name tradition.
Both parent names are explicit in the exact entry. This explains the formation rather than supplying one universal literal translation; Westley is not silently substituted.
/wɛs/; /wɛz/
Recorded English readings with either an S or Z ending.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2025 | Boys | 50 · preliminary | 580 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2021 | Boys | 5 (rounded to 5) | 4611 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2020 | Boys | 3 | 4608 | Historical source: not all years independently cross-checked. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Boys | 376 | 715 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
Exact English entry records given-name use; not exclusive cultural origin. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Wes is documented as a short form of both Wesley and Weston. Wesley traces to Old English west and a wood/clearing word; Weston traces to west and an enclosure/settlement word. These are inherited place-name root accounts, not a single literal translation of modern Wes or a claim about a bearer. The licensed west-meadow account is not imposed on the Weston route. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, Wes, Wesley, Weston entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Wes&oldid=92400927; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Wesley&oldid=92715476; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Weston&oldid=92289341. License: CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Adaptation: documented personal-name routes and root explanations summarized in English with their limits; no source audio or images reproduced.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Both parent names are explicit in the exact entry. This explains the formation rather than supplying one universal literal translation; Westley is not silently substituted. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Relationship explicitly recorded in the reviewed given-name section; spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Both parent names are explicit in the exact entry. This explains the formation rather than supplying one universal literal translation; Westley is not silently substituted. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names; CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). No source audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Recorded English readings with either an S or Z ending.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
View statistics source (link unavailable)
View statistics source (link unavailable)
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
