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BabyNames
Boy name#128 of boy names

Stanley

Pronounced S T AE1 N L IY0 (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1954
  • 145 years in use
  • 2 spellings
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How popular is Stanley?

Stanley is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 303,696 children — the 128th most common boys' name on record.

Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1954, when 6,467 children were given it.

Two other spellings are counted in that total — Stanly and Stanlee — because they are pronounced identically.

02,5005,0007,50010,00018901920195019802010
1954Boys: 6,467Girls: 24

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Stanley and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Stanly
  • Stanlee

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
S T AE1 N L IY0 · S T AE1 N L IY1
Stress pattern:
10 · 11
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Stanley

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Stanley

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Stanley?
Stanley ranks 128th among boys' names in US records, with 303,696 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 3,440.
Is Stanley a unisex name?
No. Stanley is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Stanley most popular?
1954, when 6,467 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Stanley spelled?
Stanly, Stanlee. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.