Whitley
Meaning
from a surname, 'white clearing' in Old English
The story
Whitley comes from an English surname derived from a place name meaning "white clearing" in Old English, and Behind the Name credits the character Whitley Gilbert from the American sitcom A Different World with popularizing it. The published record: about 1,050 girls in the 1980s, about 2,000 in the 1990s, a dip to about 890 in the 2000s, then about 2,080 in the 2010s and about 2,130 so far this decade, already past the whole 2010s total. A boys' line runs alongside in the tens for most decades, is absent from the published record in the 1970s, and has climbed into the hundreds in the last two. A white clearing in Old English on one side of the ledger, a sitcom character on the other, and a second climb for the girls' line that has just overtaken the first one.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Whitley peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
When you meet Whitley
Most people given the name Whitley 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.
The Whitley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Whitley 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 Whitley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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