Stanley

What Stanley means

Means “stone + meadow”

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Stanley” (revision 94543709), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Stanley?

US: Falling: down from #687 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #59 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1916, when 5,130 boys got the name (#34 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 6,144 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 507 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,455 baby boys in Scotland 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 MI (0.42 per 1,000 boys), CO (0.41 per 1,000 boys), MO (0.4 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Stanley is #863 in the US and #97 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Stanley were boys.

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

• Stanlee5 US · 4 E&W

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

If you like Stanley

Boys

• Douglas#807“black + stream”^*
• Scott#534Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1971, with 30,901 babies; 561 in 2025
• Corey#778possibly “troop, host, company”^*
• Travis#434“to cross over”^*
• Keith#800“wood”^*
• Taylor#683From the word “tailor”^*

For a sister

• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Lacey#738Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 2,399 babies; 370 in 2025
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
• Ashley#164“ash tree + wood, clearing”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Stanley’s. Rank is US 2025.