Wiley — #1157 US boys' name
18,234 babies named Wiley in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 92% of names given to boys today.
14% of everyone ever named Wiley was born in this single decade.
304 babies were named Wiley in 1921 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Wiley
The Social Security Administration has registered 18,234 babies named Wiley between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Wiley currently holds the #1157 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 304 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Wiley performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 2,621 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Wiley shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in North Carolina, which accounts for 1,654 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Georgia. In total, SSA state-level files list Wiley in 33 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Wiley 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 18,234 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.
Wiley at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
Current rank
Active since
Wiley popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1921)
- 304
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #1157 among boys.
18,234 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1921 with 304 births in a single year.
Wiley popularity over time — girls
371 total births recorded since 1921 (Wiley as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Wiley accounts for 2% of total recorded use across both genders.
Wiley by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 2,621 births that decade — 14% of Wiley's all-time total
Wiley decade highlights
- Peak decade 2,621 births
- Runner-up 2,320 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Wiley's strongest decade
2,621 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 14% of all-time use.
Wiley by state
Where Wiley concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | North Carolina | | 1,654 | 9.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 1,469 | 8.1% |
| #3 | Georgia | | 1,332 | 7.3% |
| #4 | Alabama | | 1,075 | 5.9% |
| #5 | Mississippi | | 848 | 4.7% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 825 | 4.5% |
| #7 | California | | 626 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Virginia | | 616 | 3.4% |
1,654 of 18,234 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 33 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- North Carolina 9.1% of nationwide
- Texas 8.1% of nationwide
- Georgia 7.3% of nationwide
- Alabama 5.9% of nationwide
- Mississippi 4.7% of nationwide
Recorded in 33 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
North Carolina accounts for 9.1% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Wiley appears in 33 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.