# Marley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/marley/  
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 and girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “boundary”, “pleasant”, “marten”, “woodland clearing”, “lea” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɑ(ɹ)li/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Marlee, Marleigh, Marly |
| US babies named this | 38,404 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 5,359 / 33,045 (86% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 9,841, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From several different places in England, from Old English mære (“boundary”) or myrig (“pleasant”) or mearþ (“marten”) + lēah (“woodland clearing”). In the first case, equivalent to mere (“boundary”) + -ley (“lea”).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,237 | 259 |
| 2012 | 1,242 | 260 |
| 2013 | 1,533 | 210 |
| 2014 | 1,650 | 203 |
| 2015 | 1,499 | 218 |
| 2016 | 1,500 | 215 |
| 2017 | 1,475 | 209 |
| 2018 | 1,418 | 222 |
| 2019 | 1,336 | 233 |
| 2020 | 1,369 | 211 |
| 2021 | 1,379 | 215 |
| 2022 | 1,139 | 276 |
| 2023 | 1,108 | 284 |
| 2024 | 1,108 | 286 |
| 2025 | 950 | 322 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 182 | 1,045 |
| 2012 | 190 | 1,028 |
| 2013 | 239 | 879 |
| 2014 | 279 | 816 |
| 2015 | 262 | 863 |
| 2016 | 263 | 859 |
| 2017 | 220 | 950 |
| 2018 | 244 | 889 |
| 2019 | 192 | 1,065 |
| 2020 | 234 | 943 |
| 2021 | 180 | 1,133 |
| 2022 | 184 | 1,140 |
| 2023 | 166 | 1,204 |
| 2024 | 164 | 1,228 |
| 2025 | 131 | 1,397 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 92 | 464 |
| 2012 | 65 | 639 |
| 2013 | 86 | 492 |
| 2014 | 101 | 432 |
| 2015 | 107 | 414 |
| 2016 | 107 | 415 |
| 2017 | 127 | 367 |
| 2018 | 119 | 379 |
| 2019 | 117 | 373 |
| 2020 | 125 | 354 |
| 2021 | 133 | 348 |
| 2022 | 127 | 340 |
| 2023 | 126 | 340 |
| 2024 | 114 | 377 |
| 2025 | 93 | 434 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 376 | 157 |
| 2012 | 345 | 169 |
| 2013 | 302 | 185 |
| 2014 | 292 | 193 |
| 2015 | 283 | 204 |
| 2016 | 297 | 188 |
| 2017 | 315 | 177 |
| 2018 | 294 | 179 |
| 2019 | 282 | 186 |
| 2020 | 395 | 142 |
| 2021 | 444 | 129 |
| 2022 | 437 | 128 |
| 2023 | 410 | 131 |
| 2024 | 441 | 121 |
| 2025 | 395 | 125 |

## People named Marley

- Marley Shelton, American actress
- Marley Aké, French and Ivorian association football player
- Marley Dias, American activist and writer

## 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.