Presley

What Presley means

Means “priest + wood, clearing”

The English surname is usually a variant of Priestley, from Old English prēost (“priest”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Presley” (revision 94542692), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Presley?

US: Falling: down from #188 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #2945 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2014, when 1,743 girls got the name (#190 that year). First in the US records in 1977.

How common

• About 1 in 1,180 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 11,513 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ND (2.96 per 1,000 girls), WV (2.96 per 1,000 girls), SD (2.95 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Presley is #225 in the US and #1407 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 93.9% of US babies named Presley were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Preslee142 US
• Pressley9 US
• Presli7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Preslee
• Presly
• Preslea
• Presleigh
• Presli
• Preslie

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Presley

Girls

• Harmony#276From the word “harmony”^*
• Arabella#213Editor’s note Steady in the US: #194 in 2015 and #213 in 2025
• Camila#19Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #19 vs #1,051 in 2025
• Layla#36Editor’s note Down from #30 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US
• Liliana#78Form of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Genesis#66“creation, beginning, origin”^*

For a brother

• Ryder#132From a surname for “a rider, cavalryman, or knight”^*
• Josiah#54Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #54 vs #226 in 2025
• Kayden#135Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1989, with 6 babies
• Lucas#10Editor’s note Up from #16 in 2015 to #10 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 170 US boys in the 2025 records
• Damian#109“to tame”^*
• Jude#155possibly “praised”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Presley’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.