# Stanley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/stanley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 96,867 |
| US rank (2010) | 321 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,187 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (93,817 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstænli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Stanley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 79% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Stanley in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.

## People named Stanley

- Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1946)
- Paul Stanley, American rock musician
- Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (1927–2016)
- Sadie Stanley, American actress and singer
- Jason Stanley, American philosopher
- William Stanley, American physicist (1858–1916)
- Florence Stanley, American actress (1924-2003)
- Forrest Stanley, American actor (1889-1969)
- Helene Stanley, American actress (1929-1990)
- Richard P. Stanley, American mathematician
- Augustus Owsley Stanley, American state and federal politician (1867-1958)
- Charles Henry Stanley, British-American chess player

and 20 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Steinle, Stimmel.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.