Arley
Masculine · “eagle clearing”
Arley is given to both — 3,648 boys and 898 girls since 1880. See Arley as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Arley is the eagle's clearing — an English place name from earn, the old word for an eagle, which survives now only in erne and in place names.
How old is the name Arley?
Arley first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Arley alive today was born around 1958, making them about 67 years old. About 2,100 people named Arley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arley most popular?
Arley peaked in 1885, reaching #641 nationally. Today it ranks #1753, 1,112 places below that high. See the whole 1885 chart.
Arley appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From earn leah to Arley
The story of Arley
Earn was the ordinary Old English word for an eagle and survives in 'erne', a sea eagle, and in place names across England. Arley became a surname and then an American given name in the nineteenth century, appearing in the registers steadily through the twentieth. It is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
eagle clearing
From the Old English earn, 'eagle', and leah, 'wood' or 'clearing'. A second reading takes the first element as hara, 'hare'. Arley in Warwickshire, Cheshire and Worcestershire preserves it. The eagle reading is the commoner one; both are documented.
How the name formed
- earn leah
- Arley
Related forms: Arleigh · Harley
Pronouncing Arley
AR-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Arley and Arleigh are said identically.
Nicknames for Arley
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 202592 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #641reached in 1885
- Change vs 2022
- +35.3%92 in 2025, from 68
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Arley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Arleigh in English — spelling variant
- Harley in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Arleys among us
people named Arley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 18,566 born in 2025 was named Arley
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Arley is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Arley is headed
Arley should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Arley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The eagle-clearing meaning is concrete and earn is a genuinely old English word.
- Lee is available as a short form with an enormous record.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The first element is genuinely disputed between eagle and hare.
- Harley and Arley are close enough to cause confusion.
- It is thoroughly unisex in American use.
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What they receive
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Arley
Masculine · #1753 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Arley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arley in 2025?
- Arley ranks #1753 among US boy names in 2025, with 92 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arley?
- About 1 in every 18,566 US boys born in 2025 was named Arley — 92 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arley with classmates?
- Arley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ames#1753 · Zealand#1753 · Salomon#1753 · Akai#1753 · Yehoshua#1753 · Keyler#1753 · Riaan#1753 · Morris#1753
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arley? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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