Wesley is a name with an Anglo-Norman etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

. The "wes" portion of the name refers to the Western cardinal direction, while the word "lea" refers to a field, pasture, or other clearing in a forest. Thus, the name's origin refers to a "western lea," or a field to the west. The name was predominantly used as a surname until John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, inspired some parents to name their sons after him while also retaining the parents' own surname.

Surname

• The Wesley family, founders of Methodism
  Methodism
  Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
  
   and noted musicians, including:
  • Samuel Wesley (poet)
    Samuel Wesley (poet)
    Samuel Wesley was a poet and a writer of controversial prose. He was also the father of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church.-Family and early life:...
    
     (1662–1735), minister and Stuart poet
  • John Wesley
    John Wesley
    John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
    
     (1703–1791), son of the above, the Founder of the Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity
  • Charles Wesley
    Charles Wesley
    Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
    
     (1707–1788), younger brother of the above, Methodist leader and prolific hymn writer
  • Charles Wesley junior
    Charles Wesley junior
    Charles Wesley junior was an English organist and composer. He was the son of Charles Wesley, the great hymn-writer and one of the founders of Methodism, and the brother of Samuel Wesley, also an organist and composer. He is usually referred to as "Charles Wesley junior" to avoid confusion with...
    
     (1757–1834), son of the above, organist, composer
  • Samuel Wesley
    Samuel Wesley
    Samuel Wesley was an English organist and composer in the late Georgian period. Wesley was a contemporary of Mozart and was called by some "the English Mozart."-Personal life:...
    
     (1766–1837), younger brother of the above, organist, composer
  • Samuel Sebastian Wesley
    Samuel Sebastian Wesley
    Samuel Sebastian Wesley was an English organist and composer.-Biography:Born in London, he was the eldest child in the composer Samuel Wesley's second family, which he formed with Sarah Suter having separated from his wife Charlotte. Samuel Sebastian was the grandson of Charles Wesley...
    
     (1810–1876), son of the above, organist, composer
  • Susanna Wesley
    Susanna Wesley
    Susanna Wesley , born Susanna Annesley, was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Annesley and Mary White, and the mother of John and Charles Wesley....
    
     (1669–1742), wife of Samuel Wesley (poet)

Others

• Blake Wesley
  Blake Wesley
  Trevor "Blake" Wesley is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played parts of seven seasons in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs. His younger brother Glen also played in the NHL.-External links:...
  
   (b. 1959), former Canadian professional ice hockey player
• Dante Wesley
  Dante Wesley
  Dante Julius Wesley is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
  
   (b. 1979), American football player
• David Wesley
  David Wesley
  David Barakau Wesley is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is the cousin of former NBA player Michael Dickerson. He is currently an assistant coach for the Texas Legends.-High school and college:...
  
   (b. 1970), retired American basketball player
• Mary Wesley
  Mary Wesley
  Mary Wesley, CBE was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.-Background:...
  
   (1912–2002), British author
• Fred Wesley
  Fred Wesley
  Fred Wesley is an American jazz and funk trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
  
   (b. 1943), American jazz trombonist
• Glen Wesley
  Glen Wesley
  Glen Edwin Wesley is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played 10 seasons for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. He began his career with the Boston Bruins, and briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs...
  
   (b. 1968), former Canadian National Hockey League player
• John Wesley (guitarist)
  John Wesley (guitarist)
  John Wesley is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator...
  
   (b.1962), American musician
• Paul Wesley
  Paul Wesley
  Paul Thomas Wasilewski , known professionally as Paul Wesley, is an American actor, best known for his roles as Stefan Salvatore in The CW TV series The Vampire Diaries and as Aaron Corbett in the ABC Family miniseries Fallen....
  
   (b. 1982), American actor
• Richard Wesley
  Richard Wesley
  Richard Wesley is an African American playwright, and screenwriter for television and cinema. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he is presently the chair of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.Wesley was born in Newark, New...
  
   (b. 1945), African American playwright
• Rutina Wesley
  Rutina Wesley
  Rutina Wesley is an American film, stage, and television actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood.-Early life:...
  
  , American actress
• Walt Wesley
  Walt Wesley
  Walter Wesley is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'11" center from the University of Kansas, Wesley played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Capital Bullets, Philadelphia...
  
   (b. 1945), former American basketball player
• William Wesley
  William Wesley
  William Sydney "Wes" Wesley is a consultant for Creative Artists Agency. Known as "World Wide Wes" or simply "Wes," he is most noted for his close relationships with numerous high-profile National Basketball Association players and team owners, college basketball head coaches and their agents...
  
   (b. 1969), American basketball player and agent

Given names

• John Wesley Hardin
  John Wesley Hardin
  John Wesley Hardin was an American outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk hero of the Old West. He was born in Bonham, Texas. Hardin found himself in trouble with the law at an early age, and spent the majority of his life being pursued by both local lawmen and federal troops of the...
  
  , well-known outlaw and gunfighter in late 19th-century Texas
• John Wesley Powell
  John Wesley Powell
  John Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...
  
  , soldier, geologist, and explorer of the American West
• Wesley Barbosa De Morais
  Wesley Barbosa De Morais
  Wesley Barbosa De Morais, Simply Wesley is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Atlético Mineiro.-Career statistics:- External links :* at ogol.com.br...
  
  , Brazilian football player
• Wesley Brown
  Wesley Brown
  Wesley Brown may refer to:*Wes Brown, English football player*Wesley A. Brown, first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy*Wesley E. Brown, U.S. District Court judge...
  
  , several people
• Wesley Clark
  Wesley Clark
  Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
  
  , American military General, and politician
• Wesley Lopes Beltrame
  Wesley Lopes Beltrame
  Wesley Lopes Beltrame , simply known as Wesley is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Werder Bremen.- Club career :...
  
  , Brazilian football player
• Wesley Lopes da Silva
  Wesley Lopes da Silva
  Wesley Lopes da Silva , commonly known as Wesley, is a left footed Brazilian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or second striker for Romanian Liga I team SC Vaslui, where he also serves as a vice-captain. Following his 37th goal scored in Liga I on 3 October 2011 against CS Mioveni,...
  
  , Brazilian football player
• Wesley Morgan
  Wesley Morgan
  Wesley Francis Morgan is a Canadian actor and model, known for the role of Skander Hill on Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, the recurring role of Sam on Degrassi: The Next Generation and Prom King Josh in The Rocker.-Career:...
  
  , Canadian actor and model
• Wesley Snipes
  Wesley Snipes
  Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
  
  , American actor
• Wesley Sneijder
  Wesley Sneijder
  Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch footballer playing as an attacking midfielder for Internazionale. He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA....
  
  , Dutch football player
• Wesley So
  Wesley So
  Wesley So is a Filipino chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days, making him the 8th youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess. Before becoming a Grandmaster, So had become the youngest Filipino...
  
  , Filipino chess player
• Wesley Willis
  Wesley Willis
  Wesley Willis was a musician and artist from Chicago. A diagnosed chronic schizophrenic, he gained an enormous cult following in the 1990s after releasing several hundred songs of simple but unique music, with emphasis on his humorous, bizarre, and frequently obscene lyrics...
  
  , schizophrenic cult musician and painter
• Wesley Ho, well-known nobel laureate
• Wesley Cox
  Wesley Cox
  Wesley Cox is a former NBA basketball player for the Golden State Warriors. In 1977, Wesley was drafted with the eighteenth pick by the Golden State Warriors. He played two seasons in the NBA, averaging 2.6 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game.-References:...
  
  , American video game player, professional violinist and bowler

Fictional characters

• Wesley Crusher
  Wesley Crusher
  Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is Beverly Crusher's son and is portrayed by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons. Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically. The character also appeared briefly in...
  
  , character from Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Wesley Pegden, character from Last of the Summer Wine
• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
  Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
  Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
  
  , character from the TV series Angel, originally introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Wesley Gibson, character from the movie Wanted

Places

• Wesley, Maine
  Wesley, Maine
  Wesley is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after John Wesley, founder of the English Methodist movement. The population was 114 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
  
  , a town in Washington County, Maine, United States
• Wesley, Iowa
  Wesley, Iowa
  Wesley is a city in Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 467.-Geography:Wesley is located at ....
  
  , a city in Kossuth County, Iowa, United States
• Wesley, Oklahoma
  Wesley, Oklahoma
  Wesley is an unincorporated community in Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States....
  
  , an unincorporated community in Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States
• Wesley, Indiana
  Wesley, Indiana
  Wesley is an unincorporated town in Wayne Township, Montgomery County, Indiana.-Local History:This unincorporated town was home to a train station and a church school called Wesley Academy...
  
  , an unincorporated town in Wayne County, Indiana, United States
• Wesley Township, Will County, Illinois
  Wesley Township, Will County, Illinois
  Wesley Township is located in Will County, Illinois. The population was 2,568 at the 2000 census. Wesley Township was formed from the southeastern part of Wilmington Township on an unknown date.Wesley Township Hall21333 W Ballou RoadWilmington, Il 60481...
  
  , United States
• Wesley Township, Washington County, Ohio
  Wesley Township, Washington County, Ohio
  Wesley Township is one of the twenty-two townships of Washington County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 915 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the far western part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
  , United States
• Wesley, New Zealand
  Wesley, New Zealand
  Wesley is a suburb of Auckland New Zealand, located in the south of the former Auckland City area.Local state secondary schools include Mount Albert Grammar School, Marist College and St Peter's College....
  
  , a suburb of Auckland
• Wesley, Dominica
  Wesley, Dominica
  Wesley is a village in northeastern Dominica. It has a population of 1,756 people....
  
  , a village in northeastern Dominica