Oakleigh
Oakleigh was the 668th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 423 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 507th with 598 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,143 places. More babies were named Oakleigh in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning oak clearing (English place name) · English, Old English
Say it OHK-lee /ˈoʊkli/
- Rank in 2025
- #668 girls, up 190 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 423girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2023598 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,138babies recorded
What does the name Oakleigh mean?
Oakleigh is a variant spelling of Oakley, an English place name and surname. Wiktionary explains Oakley as Old English Āclēa, from āc, oak, and lēah, a woodland clearing or glade, so the name means a clearing in an oak wood. Several English villages are called Oakley. The -leigh spelling is another way of writing the same ending, and the American Heritage Dictionary confirms both words: oak from Old English āc and lea from lēah. Oakleigh appeared as an American girls' name only in the 2000s.
āc (Old English, “oak”)lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing, meadow”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Oakley, Oaklee, Oaklynn.
See also: English names, names that mean tree, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Oakleigh' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Oakley' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'oak' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'lea' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Oakleigh popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 17 since 2018.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #668 | 423 |
| 2020 | #858 | 315 |
| 2010 | #9,109 | 13 |
| 2000 | — | — |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Oakleigh, counting every spelling?
Oakleigh has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #673 for girls in 2025, against #668 on the official list, because Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Jayleen/Jaylene/Jaelynn and Romy/Romi/Romee move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Oakleigh?
423 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Oakleigh (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Oakleigh born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Oakleigh.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Oakleigh?
About 4,100 people born in the US named Oakleigh are alive today, with a median age of 4; half are between 3 and 7. That makes Oakleigh a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Oakleigh by state
How common Oakleigh was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (5.8×), West Virginia (5.0×), Arkansas (4.4×), Alabama (4.4×), Kentucky (3.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Washington, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Oakleigh: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Oakleigh, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Oakleigh · Sibling names for Oakleigh
Questions about the name Oakleigh
What does Oakleigh mean?
Oakleigh means “oak clearing (English place name)” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Oakleigh?
Oakleigh was the 668th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 423 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 507th with 598 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,143 places. More babies were named Oakleigh in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Oakleigh a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Oakleigh in the US.
Where is Oakleigh most popular?
In 2021–2025, Oakleigh was most common in Mississippi (1.84 per 1,000 girls), followed by West Virginia and Arkansas.