# Stanley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/stanley/  
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 | “stone”, “meadow”, “lea” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstænli/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Stan |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 302,862 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 301,425 / 1,437 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 16,890, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to stone + -ley (“lea”). * The given name has also been used as an anglicisation of Stanisław, Stanislav and related names. The coastal town in Hong Kong is named after Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby.

## What it means

Stanley is grouped under mountain.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 9 | 6,527 |
| 1977 | 12 | 5,487 |
| 1978 | 7 | 8,435 |
| 1979 | 7 | 8,885 |
| 1980 | 11 | 6,267 |
| 1981 | 13 | 5,538 |
| 1982 | 5 | 12,067 |
| 1983 | 12 | 5,781 |
| 1984 | 7 | 9,019 |
| 1985 | 5 | 12,254 |
| 1986 | 5 | 12,576 |
| 1987 | 7 | 9,689 |
| 1988 | 13 | 6,238 |
| 1989 | 8 | 9,567 |
| 1990 | 6 | 12,753 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 348 | 677 |
| 2012 | 315 | 737 |
| 2013 | 355 | 680 |
| 2014 | 372 | 681 |
| 2015 | 365 | 692 |
| 2016 | 367 | 683 |
| 2017 | 351 | 703 |
| 2018 | 344 | 708 |
| 2019 | 377 | 681 |
| 2020 | 335 | 735 |
| 2021 | 312 | 790 |
| 2022 | 325 | 780 |
| 2023 | 304 | 808 |
| 2024 | 278 | 870 |
| 2025 | 278 | 863 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 824 | 80 |
| 2012 | 890 | 74 |
| 2013 | 904 | 70 |
| 2014 | 1,059 | 60 |
| 2015 | 1,078 | 59 |
| 2016 | 1,019 | 65 |
| 2017 | 914 | 70 |
| 2018 | 877 | 72 |
| 2019 | 922 | 67 |
| 2020 | 751 | 74 |
| 2021 | 724 | 82 |
| 2022 | 609 | 92 |
| 2023 | 582 | 90 |
| 2024 | 523 | 102 |
| 2025 | 536 | 97 |

## People named Stanley

- Stanley Kubrick, American filmmaker (1928–1999)
- Stanley Baldwin, British statesman (1867–1947)
- Stanley Tucci, American actor and author (born 1960)
- Stanley Cohen, American biochemist
- Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist
- Stanley Matthews, English association football player (1915-2000)
- Stanley Milgram, American social psychologist (1933–1984)
- William Stanley Jevons, English economist and logician
- Stanley Kramer, American film director and producer (1913-2001)
- Stanley Rous, 6th President of FIFA (1895–1986)
- Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (1924-2019)
- Kim Stanley Robinson, American science fiction writer (born 1952)

## 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.