Wiley
Feminine
Wiley is given to boys far more often — 18,400 boys against 394 girls since 1880. See Wiley as a boy name
Wiley entered the US charts in 1921, peaked at #3269 in 1926, ranks #5410 in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Wiley?
Wiley first appears in US birth records in 1921 — 104 years ago. The typical Wiley is a kid of about 8 — this name's wave is very recent. About 300 people named Wiley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Wiley most popular?
Wiley peaked in 1926, reaching #3269 nationally. Today it ranks #5410, 2,141 places below that high. See the whole 1926 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From welig leah (Old English: willow clearing) to Wiley
The story of Wiley
Wiley is a surname first and a given name second — one of the family names that Americans began using in the front position, a habit especially strong in the South, where a mother's maiden name often became a son's first name. Its surname ancestors are older: English families named for the willow clearings at Willey or for the valley of the Wiltshire Wylye, and Scottish families named Wylie. In American records the given name appears from the earliest years of the count and has continued, thinning but never disappearing, ever since. Its present-day strength in California, Texas and North Carolina traces that same path — a Southern surname name that traveled west with the people who carried it.
Meaningscholars disagree
Either "willow clearing" or "crafty, guileful", depending on which surname line you follow
Two separate surnames arrive at this spelling. One is English and geographic: the place names Willey and Wylye, from Old English welig (willow) and leah (wood, clearing), plus the River Wylye in Wiltshire. The other is the Scots surname Wylie, read either from Middle English wily (cunning) or as a pet form of William. Both roads are well documented; neither wins outright.
How the name formed
- welig leahOld English: willow clearing
- Willey / Wylye
- Wylie
- Wiley
Related forms: Wylie · Willey
Pronouncing Wiley
WY-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "highly". The spelling gives the sound away, so it survives being read aloud by strangers.
Nicknames for Wiley
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
- 1921
- Most girls named
- 202332 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3269reached in 1926
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%23 in 2025, from 23
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.
Wiley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Wylie in English (Scottish) — spelling variant
- Willey in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Wileys among us
people named Wiley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 69,881 born in 2025 was named Wiley
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
Wiley 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
Wiley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Wiley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
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Wiley
Feminine · #5410 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Wileys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Wiley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Wiley in 2025?
- Wiley ranks #5410 among US girl names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Wiley?
- About 1 in every 69,881 US girls born in 2025 was named Wiley — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Wiley with classmates?
- Wiley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Wiley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aina#5410 · Sherry#5410 · Kathia#5410 · Taj#5410 · Analicia#5410 · Divya#5410 · Halimah#5410 · Leo#5410
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Wiley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Wiley and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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