# Dudley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/dudley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdʌdli/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Dowdall |
| US babies named this | 11,988 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 11,868 / 120 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 191, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English, literally "wood or clearing of Dudda (a personal name of unknown meaning)".

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 8 | 3,589 |
| 1921 | 7 | 4,132 |
| 1924 | 5 | 5,279 |
| 1925 | 5 | 5,168 |
| 1928 | 9 | 3,249 |
| 1929 | 5 | 4,761 |
| 1930 | 7 | 3,757 |
| 1931 | 7 | 3,580 |
| 1934 | 6 | 3,931 |
| 1937 | 5 | 4,414 |
| 1939 | 6 | 3,885 |
| 1941 | 7 | 3,664 |
| 1944 | 9 | 3,198 |
| 1949 | 5 | 5,457 |
| 1950 | 6 | 4,890 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 6,031 |
| 2012 | 11 | 7,193 |
| 2013 | 7 | 9,939 |
| 2014 | 8 | 9,001 |
| 2015 | 7 | 9,839 |
| 2016 | 12 | 6,836 |
| 2017 | 12 | 6,804 |
| 2018 | 7 | 9,958 |
| 2019 | 10 | 7,790 |
| 2020 | 8 | 8,953 |
| 2021 | 8 | 9,046 |
| 2022 | 7 | 10,091 |
| 2023 | 12 | 7,008 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8,505 |
| 2025 | 6 | 11,017 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | 2,629 |
| 2011 | 12 | 1,788 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2013 | 8 | 2,403 |
| 2014 | 9 | 2,248 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,150 |
| 2016 | 14 | 1,704 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2,172 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,412 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2020 | 10 | 2,076 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,048 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |

## People named Dudley

- Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist
- Dudley Moore, British actor, comedian, composer and musician (1935–2002)
- Dudley Nichols, American screenwriter (1895-1960)
- Charles Dudley Warner, American writer (1829–1900)
- Dudley Sutton, British actor (1933–2018)
- Dudley North, English politician and businessman (1641-1692)
- Dudley Bradley, American basketball player (born 1957)
- Dudley Dorival, American-Haitian hurdler
- Dudley Field Malone, American actor, lawyer and politician (1882-1950)
- Paul Dudley White, American cardiologist (1886-1973)
- Dudley Buck, American composer and organist (1839–1909)
- David Dudley Field II, American politician (1805-1894)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.