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Whitley

#677 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

White clearing

Whitley has been given to 8,991 babies in the U.S. since 1984. In 2025 it ranked #677 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1988, with 508 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 91% girls, 9% boys all-time.

Babies named Whitley, 2025

1 in 7,890

Whitley over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Whitley over time

In 2025, Whitley went to 83% girls and 17% boys.

19142025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Whitley: meaning, origin, and history

White clearing

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Whitley means

Whitley means “white clearing”.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 8,148 girls were recorded with the name Whitley between 1984 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 508 in 1988; its best national rank was #446 in 1988.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #946 in 2020 to #677 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,144 in 2015 to #677 in 2025.

In the United States, 843 boys were recorded with the name Whitley between 1914 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 88 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,823 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,132 in 2020 to #1,823 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #5,729 in 2015 to #1,823 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Whitley?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 7,890
420 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 3,830
0.03% of girls
Rank, 2025
#677
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
5,472 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Whitley sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1001%
School of 5006%

Put another way: gather 5,472 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Whitley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Whitleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Whitley was born before 2011 — so the typical Whitley is around 14 today.

Median birth year
2011
About 14 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
26.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
61.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
8,148
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 26.1% of all recorded uses (2,127).

Is Whitley rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+7
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+269
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+467
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.89×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
82.7%
Peak was 1988 (508)
Years since peak
37
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
10.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#446
1988

Spellings of Whitley

Whitley is not the most common spelling — Shirley is, with 86.2% against Whitley's 1.0%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Whitley is used — girls

Across 2016–2025, Whitley was most concentrated in Oklahoma — about 1 in 1,031 girls, against 1 in 4,014 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in 50,000).

297 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Oklahoma1 in 1,031
  2. 2Arkansas1 in 1,136
  3. 3Kentucky1 in 1,149
  4. 4Missouri1 in 1,429
  5. 5Tennessee1 in 1,613
  6. 6Alabama1 in 1,639
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 2,128
  8. 8Georgia1 in 2,222

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Whitley is one of the more regionally concentrated names in the country — more concentrated than 86% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Where Whitley is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Whitley was most concentrated in Kansas — about 1 in 2,857 boys, against 1 in 19,469 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in 100,000).

135 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Kansas1 in 2,857
  2. 2Missouri1 in 5,000
  3. 3Louisiana1 in 16,667
  4. 4Georgia1 in 25,000
  5. 5North Carolina1 in 25,000
  6. 6Tennessee1 in 33,333
  7. 7Texas1 in 33,333
  8. 8Ohio1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Whitley around the world

Where Whitley ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1998–1998
    #3,142
    in 1998
  • France
    1994–1994
    #2,195
    in 1994
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #2,710
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1994–1994
    #716
    in 1994

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Whitley

People whose public names include Whitley, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Whitley by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#677
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 269
Best rank ever
#446
1988
Peak year
1988
508 that year
First recorded
1984
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
8,148
Count in 2025
420

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,823
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,309
Best rank ever
#1,823
2025
Peak year
2025
88 that year
First recorded
1914
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
843
Count in 2025
88

Names similar to Whitley

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

WrenleyKensleyCharleyBerkleyHaisleyBrinleyTinsleyKarleyKayleyBentleyKenleyBrynleyWhitleeAinsleyTenleyHenleyKeeleyBrileyKinzleyKaisleyWhisperAnsleyFinnleyBeverley

Names with a curve like Whitley

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Whitley, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

EmeraldSpencerKodiLakenKhadijaAmethystAnaisSeleneMargauxYuriSterlingAustin

Sibling names for Whitley

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Whitley

Top names of 1988, Whitley's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1988Girls' names starting with W