Waverly
Feminine
Waverly is given to both — 4,563 girls and 1,987 boys since 1880. See Waverly as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Edinburgh's main railway station is named after a novel, and it is the only station in the world that is. The book was published anonymously, was the first historical novel in English, and was so successful that its author spent the rest of his career being described on title pages as the author of it.
How old is the name Waverly?
Waverly first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Waverly is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,400 people named Waverly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Waverly most popular?
Waverly peaked in 2020, reaching #736 nationally. Today it ranks #1027, 291 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Waverly appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Waverley to Waverly
The story of Waverly
The place the novel borrowed from has its own claim to notice. Waverley Abbey in Surrey was the first Cistercian house founded in England, and its ruins are still there beside the river; the annals kept there are a significant source for twelfth-century English history. The spelling this name uses drops the e that both the abbey and the novel keep, which cuts it loose from both. That is worth knowing before choosing it, because the name arrives looking like a modern coinage and is in fact carrying eight hundred years of masonry and one very famous book.
Meaningscholars disagree
from a place name of uncertain sense
The novel took its title from a real English place, and the place name's own elements are argued over — a marshy meadow and a quaking aspen have both been proposed. The name reached general use through the book rather than through the place.
How the name formed
- Waverley
- Waverly
Pronouncing Waverly
WAY-ver-lee
Three syllables with the stress at the front. The dropped e changes nothing audible; both spellings are said identically.
Nicknames for Waverly
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
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 2022384 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #736reached in 2020
- Change vs 2023
- −20.0%244 in 2025, from 305
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.
Waverly in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Virginia.
Waverlys among us
people named Waverly are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,587 born in 2025 was named Waverly
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Santos test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Waverly's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Santos climbed just as high around 1924, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Santos's path sketches the road Waverly is walking now.
Waverly sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Waverly is headed
Waverly 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.
Waverly beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Waverly in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It carries a genuinely significant literary and architectural history.
- The rhythm is unusual and gives the name a distinctive shape.
- The spelling is shorter than the original without losing anything.
- Waverley is the older spelling and the two get used interchangeably.
- It is currently rising, so a child may meet others.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Waverly to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Waverly
Feminine · #1027 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Waverlys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,400 people named Waverly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Waverly in 2025?
- Waverly ranks #1027 among US girl names in 2025, with 244 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Waverly?
- About 1 in every 6,587 US girls born in 2025 was named Waverly — 244 in all.
- Will my child share the name Waverly with classmates?
- Waverly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Waverly
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dana#1027 · Naiari#1029 · Jolie#1029 · Ripley#1029 · Alexa#1029 · Cadence#1022 · Yamileth#1022 · Serafina#1022
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Waverly? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Waverly and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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