Worley
Masculine
Worley is an English surname used as a first name. Its first syllable belongs to a family of place-name elements that look like ordinary modern words and are not, which is the standing trap in English toponymy.
How old is the name Worley?
Worley first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical Worley alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 200 people named Worley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Worley most popular?
Worley peaked in 1885, reaching #604 nationally. See the whole 1885 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Worley
Place names in Devon and Somerset are full of endings that look like modern English and mean something else. A worthy is an enclosure, from the Old English worthig, and it closes dozens of farm names in the west country with no implication of merit. A combe is a short valley. A tor is a rock outcrop. A barton is a demesne farm. Reading those names as modern English produces nonsense, which has not stopped people doing it, and a surprising number of published local histories contain folk etymologies invented by somebody who assumed the words meant what they appear to mean.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname has been traced to several English places and no single one is established. Whether an American Worley comes from the surname or was built from the sound is not recorded.
Pronouncing Worley
WUR-lee
Two syllables with the stress in front. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
Nicknames for Worley
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
- 1882
- Most boys named
- 192032 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #604reached in 1885
- Change vs 1970
- +20.0%6 in 1971, 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.
Worleys among us
people named Worley 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
Worley 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 is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- It sits in the familiar family of English surnames Americans use in front position.
- Lee comes off the back of it as a short form and works for either sex.
- It reads as a surname to most listeners, which suits some families and not others.
- Worsley and Wesley are both close enough to be misheard.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Worley
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Worleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Worley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Worley in 2025?
- Worley is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Worley with classmates?
- Worley 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 Worley? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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