Oakley
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Meaning
from a surname and place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English; famously borne by sharpshooter Annie Oakley
The story
Oakley begins in an English clearing; one of its familiar public lives survives on film. The name comes through a surname from places meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. In 1894, Annie Oakley stood in Edison's Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey, to demonstrate her rifle shooting. The Library of Congress preserves the film. There is a change of roles behind that performance history. The Smithsonian describes Oakley beginning as her husband Frank Butler's assistant, then becoming the featured act while he became her manager. That account lets the partnership move as well: the assistant comes forward, and her husband Frank takes another part in the work. The featured act is still there in the surviving moving image.
How popular is Oakley around the world?
In the United States, 14,806 babies were named Oakley between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 1,377 boys named Oakley were born in 2025, the 33rd most common name among boys that year.
Oakley is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, South Australia, Canada and Ireland.
United States
1 in 1,500
In the United States, 14,806 babies were named Oakley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Oakley peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 420
In England and Wales, 1,377 boys named Oakley were born in 2025, the 33rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 740
In Scotland, 48 boys named Oakley were registered in 2024, the 110th most common name among boys that year.
In Scotland, 14 girls named Oakley were registered in 2024, the 260th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 790
In New Zealand, 61 boys named Oakley were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 1,5002017
In South Australia, 10 boys were registered as Oakley in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 1,800
In Canada, 112 boys named Oakley were born in 2024, the 294th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 86 girls named Oakley were born in 2024, the 345th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 6,800
In Ireland, 5 boys named Oakley were born in 2025, the 577th most common name among boys that year.
In Ireland, 3 girls named Oakley were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Oakley
Most people given the name Oakley in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Oakley · Names that go with Oakley · Middle names for Oakley · Gender-neutral names
The Oakley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Oakley truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Oakley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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