Waverly
Masculine
Waverly is given to both — 1,987 boys and 4,563 girls since 1880. See Waverly as a girl 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 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Waverly alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 900 people named Waverly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Waverly most popular?
Waverly peaked in 1900, reaching #699 nationally. See the whole 1900 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 192335 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #699reached in 1900
- Change vs 2020
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
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.
Waverlys among us
people named Waverly 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
Waverly 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
- 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.
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What they receive
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Waverly
Masculine
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 900 people named Waverly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Waverly in 2025?
- Waverly is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Waverly with classmates?
- Waverly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More W names
The most-given names starting with W, all years combined.
William#9 · Walter#251 · Willie#1315 · Wayne#652 · Wesley#52 · Wyatt#38 · Warren#240 · Wallace#960
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Waverly? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Waverly and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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