Names that mean meadow, hill or valley
Many English surnames, and the first names made from them, describe where a family lived: a clearing in a wood (the -ley of Kinsley and Bradley), a hill, a valley or a meadow. Meadow itself is the plainest of them.
Girl names (37)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everly | wild-boar clearing (place name) | English | #91 |
| Kinsley | Cyne's clearing (place name) | English | #93 |
| Hailey | hay clearing (surname) | English | #104 |
| Savannah | grassy plain; the Georgia city | Spanish | #135 |
| Oakley | oak clearing (place name) | English | #156 |
| Hadley | heather clearing (place name) | English | #121 |
| Everleigh | wild-boar clearing (place name) | English | #194 |
| Ashley | ash-tree clearing (place name) | English | #164 |
| Blakely | black clearing (place name) | English | #191 |
| Presley | priest's clearing (place name) | English | #225 |
| Blair | field, plain | Scottish | #169 |
| Harlow | rock hill or army hill (English place name) | English | #309 |
| Marley | boundary clearing, pleasant clearing or marten wood | English | #322 |
| Kimberly | English | #303 | |
| Aitana | Sierra de Aitana (Spanish place name) | Spanish | #211 |
| Kendall | valley of the river Kent (Kendal) | English | #328 |
| Harley | rock clearing or hare clearing | English | #418 |
| Sydney | wide island (English place name) | English | #348 |
| Meadow | meadow (word name) | English | #286 |
| Brynn | hill (Welsh bryn) | Welsh | #407 |
| Ainsley | solitary clearing or hermitage clearing | English | #483 |
| Sierra | mountain range (Spanish) | Spanish | #616 |
| Oakleigh | oak clearing (English place name) | English | #668 |
| Marlowe | lake remnant hill? (English place name Marlow) | English | #523 |
| Kelsey | Cēol's island (English place name) | English | #814 |
| Whitley | white clearing (English place name) | English | #677 |
| Henley | high clearing (English place name) | English | #1,001 |
| Berkley | birch clearing (variant of Berkeley) | English | #888 |
| Marleigh | variant of Marley | English | #976 |
| Waverly | place name (variant of Waverley) | English | #1,028 |
| Whitney | white island | English | #1,046 |
| Sharon | the Sharon plain | Hebrew | #1,256 |
| Lindsey | island of Lincoln (place name) | English | #1,369 |
| Shirley | bright clearing; shire meadow | English | #1,586 |
| Shelly | ledge clearing (from Shelley) | English | #5,884 |
| Ashleigh | "ash-tree wood" | English | #6,876 |
| Glenna | feminine of Glen; "valley" | Scottish | #12,349 |
Boy names (37)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan | little hollow (place name) | Scottish | #53 |
| Wesley | western meadow (surname) | English | #52 |
| Landon | long hill (place name) | English | #127 |
| Hayden | hay valley (place name) | English | #161 |
| Bentley | bent-grass clearing (place name) | English | #215 |
| Camden | enclosure valley (place name) | English | #205 |
| Knox | round hill (Scottish) | Scottish | #196 |
| Brandon | broom hill (place name) | English | #261 |
| Holden | deep valley (surname) | English | #297 |
| Bradley | broad clearing | English | #403 |
| Banks | at the bank (slope) | English | #310 |
| Dalton | valley settlement | English | #448 |
| Ridge | ridge, a long hilltop (English word/surname) | English | #530 |
| Huxley | Hucc's clearing (English place name) | English | #736 |
| Kingsley | king's wood or clearing | English | #1,096 |
| Westley | western clearing (English place name) | English | #619 |
| Lee | meadow, clearing (English surname) | English | #727 |
| Everest | Mount Everest; surname from Évreux | English | #796 |
| Stanley | stony clearing | English | #863 |
| Sidney | wide island (place name) | English | #1,327 |
| Kenai | meadow, flat open land (Dena'ina) | Native American | #713 |
| Heath | heath, open land | English | #932 |
| Montgomery | Gomeric's hill | French | #962 |
| Vance | "marsh, fen" | English | #1,080 |
| Lyle | "the island" | French | #1,047 |
| Rodney | Hroda's island | English | #1,093 |
| Coast | coast, seashore | English | #875 |
| Clifford | ford by a cliff | English | #1,352 |
| Monte | "mountain"; or short form of Montgomery | Spanish | #1,473 |
| Ross | "headland, promontory" | Scottish | #1,465 |
| Dale | valley | English | #1,410 |
| Brent | steep (hill) | English | #1,509 |
| Glenn | valley (Gaelic) | Scottish | #1,443 |
| Craig | rock, crag | Scottish | #1,644 |
| Clifton | "settlement by a cliff" | English | #1,907 |
| Sheldon | "shelf-hill" (place-name) | English | #2,788 |
| Roosevelt | "rose field" or "rush field" | Germanic | #4,362 |
How names get on this list
Our editors read each name's documented etymology and tag a theme only when the roots of the name carry that meaning. Popular explanations without support (folk etymologies) don't count, and names whose origin is uncertain are left out unless every explanation agrees. The list covers the roughly 2,000 most used names we have researched so far, ordered by the number of US babies in the last five years. How we research meanings.