Curley
Masculine · “curly-haired”
Curley is given to both — 2,590 boys and 534 girls since 1880. See Curley as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Curley is a remark about somebody's hair that stuck. It is also an Irish surname from an entirely different word, and the two have been sitting on the same spelling in American records since the beginning of the count with nothing to tell them apart.
How old is the name Curley?
Curley first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Curley alive today was born around 1941, making them about 84 years old. About 1,100 people named Curley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Curley most popular?
Curley peaked in 1902, reaching #490 nationally. See the whole 1902 chart.
Where it comes from
From curly to Curley
The story of Curley
Physical nicknames are among the oldest sources of European surnames, and hair supplied a great many of them: Curley, Blake for dark, Bell for fair, Russell for red, Crisp for curly again by another road. They were given by neighbors rather than chosen, and they stuck to families for centuries after the hair in question had gone. The ey ending is what marks this one as a name rather than an adjective — written curly it is a description, written Curley it is a person — and that single letter is doing all the work.
Meaningscholars disagree
curly-haired
As an English nickname it describes hair. As an Irish surname it comes from a Gaelic word about being troubled or agitated, anglicized by sound rather than sense, and the two are unrelated.
How the name formed
- curly
- Curley
Related forms: O Coirbealaigh
Pronouncing Curley
KUR-lee
Two syllables with the weight at the front, said exactly like the adjective.
Nicknames for Curley
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 194360 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #490reached in 1902
- Change vs 1997
- −16.7%5 in 2003, from 6
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.
Curley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- O Coirbealaigh in Irish — related form
Curleys among us
people named Curley are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Curley sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing.
- It works as a surname and as a first name, which suits families that use both.
- The ey ending marks it as a name without changing the sound.
- It is a description of hair, and a child whose hair is straight will hear about it.
- The spelling is recorded for girls as well as boys in the United States.
- It reads clearly as a name of the nineteenth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Curley
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Curleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Curley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Curley in 2025?
- Curley is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Curley with classmates?
- Curley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Curley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Curley and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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