Motley
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- MAHT-lee
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #6,799 for boys
Motley is a name of English origin, meaning “multicoloured, varied”. In 2025 it ranked 6,799th for boys in the US (12 babies).
What does Motley mean?
English: English word and surname
“multicoloured, varied”
English word for the multicoloured costume of a court jester, and an English surname.
Is Motley a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Motley has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls and 12 boys in the US.
How popular is Motley in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,799th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 12 about 1 in 140,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising fast up 400% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 12 boys in the US were named Motley, making it the 6,799th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,292nd. Its busiest year was 2022, with 42 boys. It first appears in the records in 2010. 12 girls were also named Motley in 2025 (8,360th for girls).
2025 had fewer boys named Motley than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Motley in the US since 1880 were born between 2021 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2024, 39% of the babies named Motley in the US were girls.
Motley in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #6,799 |
| 2024 | 27 | #3,984 |
| 2023 | 26 | #4,109 |
| 2022 | 42 | #2,960 |
| 2021 | 14 | #6,027 |
| 2020 | 13 | #6,292 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 6 | #10,801 |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,224 |
Names like Motley
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Huxley, Oakley, Sevyn, Finley, Ripley, Bentley, Legend, Baker, Cassian, Kyaire, Rhodes, Brewer
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Motley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/motley, updated 20 October 2026.