Stanley

Where Stanley comes from

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to stone + -ley (“lea”). * The given name has also been used as an anglicisation of Stanisław, Stanislav and related names. The coastal town in Hong Kong is named after Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby.
— Wiktionary's entry for Stanley
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1867
    Stanley Baldwin born
    British statesman
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #189 among boys — 65 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1917
    Peak, #34
    5,186 babies named Stanley — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1928
    Stanley Kubrick born
    American filmmaker and photographer
  5. 1966
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #128.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, popular in the early 20th century.
Namesakes
  • Stanley Kubrick · American filmmaker and photographer, 1928–1999
  • Stanley Baldwin · British statesman, 1867–1947
  • Stanley Tucci · American actor and author, born 1960
  • Stanley B. Prusiner · American neurologist and biochemist, born 1942
  • Stanley Cohen · American biochemist, 1922–2020

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.