Stanley
Stanley was given to 278 boys in 2025, #863 among boys’ names; 302,862 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 123,000 Americans named Stanley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 67 years old and half are between 53 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Stanley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Stanley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Stanley is “a male given name transferred from the surname, popular in the early 20th century.” Its etymology gives the senses “stone” (stān) and “meadow” (lēah).
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.
/ˈstænli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Stanley?
#863 among boys’ names, 2025
Stanley fell from #692 in 2015 to #863 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.19 to 0.16 per 1,000.
6,472 babies in 1954, the peak
Stanley peaked in 1954, when 6,472 babies were given it (6,448 boys, #58 among boys’ names). The 278 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 278 | #863 | 0.16 |
| 2024 | 278 | #870 | 0.16 |
| 2023 | 304 | #808 | 0.18 |
| 2022 | 325 | #780 | 0.19 |
| 2021 | 312 | #790 | 0.18 |
| 2020 | 335 | #735 | 0.19 |
| 2019 | 377 | #681 | 0.21 |
| 2018 | 344 | #708 | 0.19 |
| 2017 | 351 | #703 | 0.19 |
| 2016 | 367 | #683 | 0.19 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 365 | #692 | 0.19 |
| 2014 | 372 | #681 | 0.19 |
| 2013 | 355 | #680 | 0.19 |
| 2012 | 315 | #737 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 348 | #677 | 0.18 |
| 2010 | 347 | #683 | 0.18 |
| 2009 | 359 | #679 | 0.18 |
| 2008 | 370 | #657 | 0.18 |
| 2007 | 398 | #620 | 0.19 |
| 2006 | 404 | #601 | 0.20 |
| 2005 | 410 | #569 | 0.21 |
| 2004 | 413 | #556 | 0.21 |
| 2003 | 405 | #553 | 0.21 |
| 2002 | 472 | #490 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 443 | #513 | 0.23 |
| 2000 | 453 | #505 | 0.23 |
| 1999 | 508 | #451 | 0.26 |
| 1998 | 473 | #469 | 0.25 |
| 1997 | 525 | #431 | 0.28 |
| 1996 | 531 | #424 | 0.28 |
| 1995 | 562 | #406 | 0.30 |
| 1994 | 607 | #384 | 0.31 |
| 1993 | 637 | #373 | 0.32 |
| 1992 | 694 | #344 | 0.35 |
| 1991 | 778 | #324 | 0.39 |
| 1990 | 809 | #313 | 0.39 |
| 1989 | 869 | #285 | 0.43 |
| 1988 | 826 | #284 | 0.43 |
| 1987 | 822 | #265 | 0.44 |
| 1986 | 871 | #256 | 0.47 |
| 1985 | 920 | #247 | 0.50 |
| 1984 | 885 | #248 | 0.49 |
| 1983 | 908 | #244 | 0.51 |
| 1982 | 1,000 | #233 | 0.55 |
| 1981 | 1,014 | #230 | 0.57 |
| 1980 | 1,096 | #221 | 0.61 |
| 1979 | 1,065 | #218 | 0.62 |
| 1978 | 1,021 | #212 | 0.62 |
| 1977 | 1,115 | #204 | 0.68 |
| 1976 | 1,151 | #196 | 0.73 |
| 1975 | 1,169 | #194 | 0.75 |
| 1974 | 1,144 | #194 | 0.73 |
| 1973 | 1,358 | #172 | 0.87 |
| 1972 | 1,473 | #170 | 0.91 |
| 1971 | 1,769 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,949 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1969 | 1,907 | #155 | 1.1 |
| 1968 | 2,145 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1967 | 2,247 | #134 | 1.3 |
| 1966 | 2,437 | #128 | 1.4 |
| 1965 | 2,819 | #115 | 1.5 |
| 1964 | 3,130 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 1963 | 3,541 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 1962 | 3,635 | #106 | 1.8 |
| 1961 | 3,923 | #106 | 1.8 |
| 1960 | 4,221 | #100 | 2.0 |
| 1959 | 4,343 | #98 | 2.0 |
| 1958 | 4,911 | #88 | 2.3 |
| 1957 | 5,268 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1956 | 5,985 | #70 | 2.8 |
| 1955 | 6,050 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1954 | 6,448 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1953 | 6,275 | #62 | 3.2 |
| 1952 | 6,226 | #58 | 3.2 |
| 1951 | 6,205 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1950 | 5,453 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1949 | 5,527 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1948 | 5,383 | #65 | 3.1 |
| 1947 | 5,501 | #67 | 3.0 |
| 1946 | 4,767 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1945 | 4,058 | #59 | 3.0 |
| 1944 | 4,121 | #57 | 3.0 |
| 1943 | 4,699 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1942 | 4,587 | #56 | 3.3 |
| 1941 | 3,926 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1940 | 3,694 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1939 | 3,570 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1938 | 3,544 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1937 | 3,483 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1936 | 3,492 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1935 | 3,696 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1934 | 3,569 | #58 | 3.5 |
| 1933 | 3,432 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1932 | 3,759 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1931 | 4,202 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1930 | 4,383 | #49 | 4.0 |
| 1929 | 4,265 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1928 | 4,481 | #45 | 4.0 |
| 1927 | 4,902 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1926 | 4,966 | #43 | 4.5 |
| 1925 | 5,030 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1924 | 5,186 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1923 | 5,036 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1922 | 5,045 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1921 | 5,231 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1920 | 5,314 | #40 | 5.0 |
| 1919 | 5,238 | #37 | 5.3 |
| 1918 | 5,618 | #36 | 5.5 |
| 1917 | 5,186 | #34 | 5.6 |
| 1916 | 5,130 | #34 | 5.8 |
| 1915 | 4,807 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1914 | 3,559 | #39 | 5.4 |
| 1913 | 2,595 | #41 | 5.1 |
| 1912 | 2,017 | #43 | 4.7 |
| 1911 | 997 | #44 | 4.4 |
| 1910 | 761 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1909 | 607 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1908 | 547 | #52 | 3.5 |
| 1907 | 516 | #55 | 3.5 |
| 1906 | 455 | #56 | 3.4 |
| 1905 | 384 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1904 | 371 | #65 | 2.9 |
| 1903 | 361 | #59 | 3.0 |
| 1902 | 334 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1901 | 239 | #82 | 2.2 |
| 1900 | 342 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1899 | 258 | #76 | 2.4 |
| 1898 | 295 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 1897 | 240 | #77 | 2.1 |
| 1896 | 259 | #78 | 2.2 |
| 1895 | 233 | #83 | 2.0 |
| 1894 | 218 | #90 | 1.9 |
| 1893 | 212 | #87 | 1.9 |
| 1892 | 181 | #103 | 1.5 |
| 1891 | 178 | #92 | 1.8 |
| 1890 | 223 | #78 | 2.0 |
| 1889 | 151 | #108 | 1.4 |
| 1888 | 154 | #110 | 1.3 |
| 1887 | 110 | #121 | 1.1 |
| 1886 | 95 | #148 | 0.86 |
| 1885 | 97 | #140 | 0.90 |
| 1884 | 105 | #136 | 0.92 |
| 1883 | 68 | #179 | 0.65 |
| 1882 | 76 | #180 | 0.67 |
| 1881 | 76 | #160 | 0.75 |
| 1880 | 65 | #191 | 0.59 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Stanley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Stanley has been given almost only to boys: 1,437 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Stanley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Stanley, and how old are they?
123,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 302,862 Americans ever recorded as Stanley. The median Stanley alive today is 67 years old; half are between 53 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 135,819 people named Stanley (258 women and girls, 135,561 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 143,359 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 14,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 63,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 12,100 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,530 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,330 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Stanley born?
The states with the most babies named Stanley are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 35,628 | #712 | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 27,218 | #837 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 18,589 | #863 | 1.1× |
| California | 17,776 | #879 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 13,548 | #515 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 13,221 | #793 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 11,493 | #823 | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 10,374 | #886 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 9,345 | #1,545 | 0.5× |
| Missouri | 6,900 | #552 | 0.9× |
Where Stanley is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Stanley is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 2.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Stanley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 304,212 babies since 1880, Stanley is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 278 of their 283 babies (98%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Stanley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Stanley and names like it
- Compare Stanley and StanlyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sStanley peaked in 1954.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Stanley since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Stanley: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1954The year the most babies were named Stanley.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Stanley alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.