ninan.org

Stanley

Boys' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~132,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#863 among boys
Births in 2025
278 302,862 since 1880
Typical age
67 years, median

Stanley popularity over time

Stanley rank by birth year, 1880–2025Stanley ranked #189 in 1880 and #863 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #34, in 1915.#100#1,000#863best #34 in 191518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1954: 6,472 births recorded as Stanley. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 70 years put Stanley in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #863, with 278 births that year. Compared with 2015, births are down 24%.

Babies named Stanley per yearPeaks at 6,472 births in 1954.6,472 in 1954018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Stanley?

An estimated 132,200 living Americans are called Stanley. That is out of 302,862 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Stanley?

Half of living Stanleys are older than 67, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Stanley a mid-century perennial name.

Your Stanley

Ages of living people named StanleyHalf of living Stanleys are older than 67 and half younger.median 67020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Stanley is most common

The name is concentrated in Minnesota, at 2.1× the national rate. Maryland, Washington and Pennsylvania follow.

Where Stanley is used more than average5 states use the name Stanley more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.7× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: 2.1× the national rateMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: 1.7× the national rateMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.7× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.8× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Stanley is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Minnesota 96 2.1×
Maryland 79 1.8×
Washington 102 1.7×
Pennsylvania 166 1.7×
Michigan 129 1.7×

Stanley in England and Wales

ONS recorded 536 births named Stanley in 2025, ranking it #97. That is 29% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Stanley comes from

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”). The given name has also been used as an anglicisation of Stanisław, Stanislav and related names.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Stanley

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Stanley Kubrick American filmmaker and photographer 1928–1999 159
Stanley Baldwin British statesman 1867–1947 78
Stanley Tucci American actor and author 1960 62
Stanley B. Prusiner American neurologist and biochemist 1942 60
Stanley Matthews English association football player 1915–2000 57
Stanley Milgram American social psychologist 1933–1984 51
Stanley Kramer American film director and producer 1913–2001 48
Stanley Donen American film director and choreographer 1924–2019 46
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,003 in 1911 to 2,017 in 1912 — 2.0 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/stanley.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).