Stanley — #873 US boys' name
301,142 babies named Stanley in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1954. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 94% of names given to boys today.
19% of everyone ever named Stanley was born in this single decade.
6,448 babies were named Stanley in 1954 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Stanley
The Social Security Administration has registered 301,142 babies named Stanley between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Stanley currently holds the #873 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1954, when 6,448 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Stanley performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 57,162 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Stanley shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 35,562 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and Illinois. In total, SSA state-level files list Stanley in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Stanley in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 301,142 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Stanley at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Stanley popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1954)
- 6,448
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #873 among boys.
301,142 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1954 with 6,448 births in a single year.
Stanley popularity over time — girls
1,437 total births recorded since 1900 (Stanley as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Stanley accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Stanley by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- 57,162 births that decade — 19% of Stanley's all-time total
Stanley decade highlights
- Peak decade 57,162 births
- Runner-up 49,456 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1950s was Stanley's strongest decade
57,162 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 19% of all-time use.
Stanley by state
Where Stanley concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 35,562 | 11.8% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 27,196 | 9.0% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 18,575 | 6.2% |
| #4 | California | | 17,743 | 5.9% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 13,531 | 4.5% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 13,205 | 4.4% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 11,480 | 3.8% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 10,368 | 3.4% |
35,562 of 301,142 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 11.8% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 9.0% of nationwide
- Illinois 6.2% of nationwide
- California 5.9% of nationwide
- Michigan 4.5% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 11.8% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Stanley appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.