Names Matching Pattern *ley*

Ainsley f & m Scottish, English (Modern)
From an English surname that was from a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".... [more]

Aleyda f Spanish (Latin American)
Variant of Aleida.

Aleyna f Turkish (Modern)
Possibly from Arabic علينا (ʿalaynā) meaning "to us". Alternatively, it could be from Arabic أليناء (ʾalaynāʾ), a plural form of ليّن (layyin) meaning "gentle, soft".

Ansley f English (Modern)
Variant of Ainsley.

Ashley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from place names meaning "ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English æsc and leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls. It reached its height of popularity in America in 1987, but it did not become the highest ranked name until 1991, being overshadowed by the likewise-popular Jessica until then. In the United Kingdom it is still more common as a masculine name.

Audley m English
From a surname that was taken from a place name meaning "Ealdgyð's clearing" in Old English.

Bailey m & f English
From an English surname derived from Middle English baili meaning "bailiff", originally denoting one who was a bailiff.... [more]

Bayley m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Bailey.

Bentley m English
From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Beverley f English
Variant of Beverly.

Bradley m English
From an English surname that originally came from a place name meaning "broad clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the World War II American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).

Brantley m English (Modern)
From a surname, an Americanized form of the German surname Brändle, ultimately from Old High German brant "fire".

Briley f English (Modern)
Modern name, probably based on the sounds found in other names such as Bryson and Riley. It also coincides with the surname Briley.

Brinley f English (Modern)
Combination of Bryn and the popular phonetic suffix lee. It also coincides with an English surname, which was derived from the name of a town meaning "burned clearing" in Old English.

Carley f English (Modern)
Variant of Carly.

Cataleya f Various (Rare)
Variant of cattleya, a genus of orchids native to Central and South America, which were named for the British horticulturist William Cattley. This name was popularized by the main character from the movie Colombiana (2011).

Cayley f English (Rare)
Variant of Kaylee.

Charley m & f English
Diminutive or feminine form of Charles.

Chesley m & f English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "camp meadow" in Old English.

Conley m Irish
Anglicized form of Conleth.

Daley f & m English (Rare), Dutch (Modern)
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Dálaigh, itself derived from the given name Dálach. Its recent popularity in the Netherlands can be attributed to the Dutch soccer player Daley Blind (1990-).

Daleyza f American (Hispanic, Modern)
Meaning uncertain, perhaps an elaboration of Dalia 1. This name was used by Mexican-American musician Larry Hernandez for his daughter born 2010.

Dudley m English
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "Dudda's clearing" in Old English. The surname was borne by a British noble family.

Farley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally from a place name meaning "fern clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer of this name was Canadian author Farley Mowat (1921-2014).

Finley m & f English
Variant of Finlay. This is by far the preferred spelling in the United States, where it has lately been more common as a feminine name.

Finnley m English (Modern)
Variant of Finley.

Hadley f & m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather field" in Old English.

Hailey f English (Modern)
Variant of Hayley. This is currently the most common spelling in the United States, surpassing Haley in 2001 and attaining a high rank of 19th in 2010.

Haley f English (Modern)
Variant of Hayley. This spelling gained some popularity in the United States in 1977, possibly due to the author Alex Haley, whose book Roots was adapted into a popular miniseries that year. This was the most common American spelling from then to 2001, when it was eclipsed by Hailey.

Harley m & f English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing". An American name for boys since the 19th century, it began to be used for girls after a character with the name began appearing on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1987.

Hartley m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Hayley f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from the name of an English town (meaning "hay clearing" from Old English heg "hay" and leah "clearing"). It was brought to public attention as a given name, especially in the United Kingdom, by the British child actress Hayley Mills (1946-).... [more]

Headley m English (Rare)
Variant of Hedley.

Hedley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.

Huxley m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).

Kailey f English (Modern)
Variant of Kaylee.

Kaley f English (Modern)
Variant of Kaylee.

Kayley f English (Modern)
Variant of Kaylee.

Keeley f English (Modern)
Variant of Keely.

Keighley f English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from an English place name, ultimately meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name Cyhha is of unknown meaning. This name also serves as a variant of Kaylee.

Kelley f & m English
Variant of Kelly.

Kensley f English (Modern)
Variant of Kinsley.

Kiley f English
Variant of Kylie.

Kimberley f English
Variant of Kimberly.

Kingsley m & f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "king's wood" in Old English. This name may have received a minor boost in popularity after the release of the 2007 movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, featuring the character Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Kinley f English (Modern)
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Mac Fhionnlaigh, itself derived from the given name Fionnlagh.

Kinsley f English (Modern)
From a surname that was derived from an English place name, itself meaning "clearing belonging to Cyne". The Old English given name Cyne is a short form of longer names beginning with cyne meaning "royal".... [more]

Lesley f & m English
Variant of Leslie.

Leyla f Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, English (Modern)
Variant of Leila, and the usual Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kurdish form.

Leyre f Spanish
From the name of a mountain in Navarre in northern Spain, the site of the old monastery of San Salvador of Leyre. It is from Basque Leire, possibly derived from Latin legionarius meaning "pertaining to a legion".

Leyton m English (Modern)
From a surname that was a variant of Layton.

Macauley m English (British)
Variant of Macaulay.

Manley m English
From an English surname, originally a place name, meaning "common clearing" in Old English.

Marley f & m English (Modern)
From an English surname that was taken from a place name meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the Jamaican musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).

McKinley f & m English
From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Mac Fhionnlaigh, from the given name Fionnlagh. A famous bearer of the surname was the American president William McKinley (1843-1901).... [more]

Miley f English (Modern)
In the case of actress and singer Miley Cyrus (1992-), it is a shortened form of the nickname Smiley, given to her by her father because she often smiled. Although it was not at all common before she brought it to public attention, there are some examples of its use before her time, most likely as a diminutive of Miles.

Morley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was originally from an Old English place name meaning "marsh clearing".

Oakley m & f English
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).

Paisley f English (Modern)
From a Scots surname, originally from the name of a town near Glasgow, maybe ultimately derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.

Panteley m Bulgarian (Rare), Russian (Rare)
Bulgarian and Russian form of both Panteleimon and Pantaleon.

Presley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "priest clearing" (Old English preost and leah). This surname was borne by musician Elvis Presley (1935-1977).

Ridley m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was originally derived from various place names meaning either "reed clearing" or "stripped clearing" in Old English.

Riley m & f English
From a surname that comes from two distinct sources. As an Irish surname it is a variant of Reilly. As an English surname it is derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English.... [more]

Ripley f & m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from the name of various English towns, from Old English rippel "grove, thicket" and leah "clearing". A famous fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley (usually only called by her surname) from the Alien series of movies, beginning 1979.

Rowley m English
Variant of Roly.

Ryley m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Riley.

Shelley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "clearing on a bank" in Old English. Two famous bearers of the surname were Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), a romantic poet whose works include Adonais and Ozymandias, and Mary Shelley (1797-1851), his wife, the author of the horror story Frankenstein. As a feminine given name, it came into general use after the 1940s.

Sherley f English (Rare)
Variant of Shirley.

Shirley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "bright clearing" in Old English. This is the name of a main character in Charlotte Brontë's semi-autobiographical novel Shirley (1849). Though the name was already popular in the United States, the child actress Shirley Temple (1928-2014) gave it a further boost. By 1935 it was the second most common name for girls.

Sóley f Icelandic
Means "buttercup (flower)" in Icelandic (genus Ranunculus), derived from sól "sun" and ey "island".

Sorley m Scottish
Anglicized form of Somhairle.

Souleymane m Western African
Form of Sulayman used in parts of French-influenced West Africa.

Stanley m English
From an English surname meaning "stone clearing" (Old English stan "stone" and leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).

Süleýman m Turkmen
Turkmen form of Süleyman.

Süleyman m Turkish, Azerbaijani
Turkish form of Solomon. Süleyman the Magnificent was a sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. He expanded Ottoman territory into Europe and Persia, reformed the government, and completed several great building projects.

Tenley f English (Modern)
From an English surname, itself possibly from a place name derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing". This name was popularized in 2010 by a contestant on the reality television series The Bachelor.

Thorley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.

Wesley m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself meaning "west meadow" from Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". It has been sometimes given in honour of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism.

Westley m English
From a surname that was a variant of Wesley.

Wiley m English
From a surname that was derived from various English place names: towns named Willey or the River Wylye.

Wrenley f English (Modern)
Elaboration of Wren using the popular name suffix ley.

Züleyha f Turkish
Turkish form of Zuleika.

Züleyxa f Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani form of Zuleika.