Genealogy Chat

The current convention is that Francis is male & Frances is female - but people weren't always so strict in the past, one gathers. And there's no point in saying, absolutely, that Leslie is male & Lesley is female (and it may be offensive to some poeple if you do so) when there are people of the opposite gender carrying the unexpected spelling - all you can say is that one is more usual than the other. Christian is another name which has migrated. It was usually female and is now usually male. There was a thread on this topic a few weeks ago. That time it include Vivian/Vivien, Hilary, and so on. Christine

Leslie is Male and Lesley is Female Marie

Leslie is the male name Lesley is the female name

I have various friends called Catherine Catharine Katherine Katharine and Kathryn not to mention all the Cathy/Kathy/Kate/Katie/Katy/Kateys!!!!!!! Leslie is a male version, though Humphrey Bogart's daughter was given this name, I think after Leslie Howard, but not sure. Frances is the female version. Then there are all those names that do for either sex - Kim/Beverley/Hilary/Vivian etc. nell

My father, grandfather and great grandfather were Francis. My husband has an Aunt called Frances. I believe that Leslie is normally the male version in the UK but that spelling is often used for girls in the USA. As for the C or K in Catherine etc then it is a matter of taste. We have a daughter called Katharine. When choosing her name we looked at meanings and found it came from the Greek word Kathara so we decided we preferred the version that looked most like the original with a K and 2 a's. If you look in a book of names then you'll find more different ways of spelling Katharine than almost any girl's name. The way we chose is the way Katharine Hepburn was spelled. Sue

Francis is the male version, went to a Catholic school and was a very popular name then for the boys

daughters boyfriend is Leslie!

I get totally confused with Francis and Frances ..............duh !

Sorry to put the cat among the pigeons, but LESLIE is ''usually'' not ''always'' the men's version. I had a school-friend/classmate at a (definitely) all-girls school, called ''Leslie''. I should say that I've had endless trouble with that name ever since! Christine

Leslie is def the male version. Our daughter is Karen Lesley!! T.....

Right , LESLIE ........now what was the surname ..........!!??

Leslie definitely male, and Lesley female. Leslie Crowther/Howard. Male. Lesley Ash/Judd. Female. John

I'm going for the ie - before I get completely confused ! Thank you all

Leslie is the male version. Kath. x

Leslie is the male version. Sue

trying to think of a famous lesley ( male or female)..................... on the ready steady cook website Lesley (F) is spelt -ley

Leslie is the male version of the name to my knowledge!! But as I am typing this I am doubting myself!! :O) xx

Thanks, I've been trying to find out for ages.

i think it is leslie. altough I might be wrong - looking on a census there seems to be a fairly even split. Sorry. Think you need to wait for someone with a Les in their family to come and sort it out.

Can someone tell me if Lesley or Leslie is the male name ?