Whitley
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- WIT-lee
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #675 for girls
Whitley is a name of English origin, meaning “white clearing”. In 2025 it ranked 675th for girls in the US (420 babies).
What does Whitley mean?
English: surname from English place names
“white clearing”
From English place names such as Whitley Bay on the coast of north-east England.
Is Whitley a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Whitley has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 420 girls and 88 boys in the US.
How popular is Whitley in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #675among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 420about 1 in 3,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 50% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 420 girls in the US were named Whitley, making it the 675th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 946th. Its busiest year was 1988, with 508 girls. It first appears in the records in 1984. 88 boys were also named Whitley in 2025 (1,808th for boys).
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had more girls named Whitley than any year since 1990.
Half of all the girls named Whitley in the US since 1880 were born between 1992 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 498 girls in the US were given Whitley or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #596, up from #675 for this spelling alone.
Girls were 98% of the babies named Whitley in the US in 1988, and 83% in 2025.
Whitley in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 420 | #675 |
| 2024 | 417 | #684 |
| 2023 | 383 | #735 |
| 2022 | 316 | #880 |
| 2021 | 320 | #855 |
| 2020 | 271 | #946 |
| 2019 | 281 | #939 |
| 2018 | 262 | #998 |
| 2017 | 258 | #1,005 |
| 2016 | 251 | #1,047 |
| 2015 | 222 | #1,139 |
| 2014 | 197 | #1,235 |
| 2013 | 170 | #1,371 |
| 2012 | 157 | #1,452 |
| 2011 | 156 | #1,446 |
| 2010 | 121 | #1,720 |
| 2009 | 106 | #1,956 |
| 2008 | 75 | #2,511 |
| 2007 | 75 | #2,485 |
| 2006 | 81 | #2,328 |
| 2005 | 82 | #2,224 |
| 2004 | 92 | #1,997 |
| 2003 | 83 | #2,103 |
| 2002 | 99 | #1,803 |
| 2001 | 90 | #1,918 |
| 2000 | 104 | #1,686 |
| 1999 | 104 | #1,610 |
| 1998 | 110 | #1,524 |
| 1997 | 105 | #1,528 |
| 1996 | 127 | #1,335 |
| 1995 | 140 | #1,222 |
| 1994 | 182 | #1,017 |
| 1993 | 206 | #924 |
| 1992 | 236 | #840 |
| 1991 | 365 | #618 |
| 1990 | 432 | #546 |
| 1989 | 480 | #489 |
| 1988 | 508 | #446 |
| 1987 | 50 | #2,154 |
| 1986 | 8 | #7,745 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,139 |
Names like Whitley
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Harley Bailey Riley Marley Presley Hadley Hailey Kinsley Winter Kinley Lainey Heaven
Other spellings of Whitley
More English names
Lily Evelyn Hudson Ivy Harper Grace Violet Willow Daisy Poppy Oakley 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, “Whitley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/whitley, updated 20 October 2026.