Waverly
Waverly was the 1028th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 244 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 736th; the most babies were born in 2022 (384). Over the last ten years it has moved up 713 places. More babies were named Waverly in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning place name (variant of Waverley) · English, Old English
Say it WAY-ver-lee /ˈweɪvɚli/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,028 girls, down 292 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 244girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022384 babies
- Total since 1880
- 6,550babies recorded
What does the name Waverly mean?
Waverly is a variant of Waverley, the title and hero's name of Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley, which was so popular that dozens of American towns were named after it. Scott probably took the name from Waverley Abbey in Surrey, an English place name ending in Old English lēah 'clearing'; the first part is uncertain, often linked to a word meaning 'quaking, unstable (ground)' or 'aspen'. As a given name it has shifted from boys to mainly girls.
lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The route from Scott's novel is clear; the meaning of the original place name is not settled.
Related names: Waverley, Wavery.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Waverly', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Waverley', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Waverly popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,028 | — | 244 | — |
| 2020 | #736 | #13,941 | 372 | 5 |
| 2010 | #3,043 | #14,151 | 56 | 5 |
| 2000 | #4,394 | #10,300 | 28 | 6 |
| 1990 | #12,914 | #4,984 | 6 | 11 |
| 1980 | — | #2,959 | — | 16 |
| 1970 | #9,331 | #2,121 | 5 | 19 |
| 1960 | #5,686 | #1,522 | 7 | 29 |
| 1950 | #4,726 | #1,255 | 7 | 34 |
| 1940 | — | #1,733 | — | 17 |
| 1930 | — | #1,531 | — | 24 |
| 1920 | #5,735 | #1,541 | 5 | 25 |
| 1910 | — | #1,307 | — | 8 |
| 1900 | — | #735 | — | 13 |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Waverly, counting every spelling?
Waverly is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #933 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,028 for Waverly on its own. Together these spellings went to 264 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waverly | 244 | #1,028 | 1,607 |
| Waverley | 14 | #7,864 | 116 |
| Waverlee | 6 | #14,830 | 53 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Waverly?
244 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Waverly (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Waverly 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 34 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Waverly.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Waverly?
About 4,400 people born in the US named Waverly are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 13. That makes Waverly 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.
Waverly by state
How common Waverly was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Mississippi (4.9×), Kentucky (3.1×), Tennessee (2.5×), Virginia (2.4×), Missouri (2.3×). In 17 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Waverly: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Waverly, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Waverly · Sibling names for Waverly
Questions about the name Waverly
What does Waverly mean?
Waverly is usually explained as “place name (variant of Waverley)”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Waverly?
Waverly was the 1028th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 244 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 736th; the most babies were born in 2022 (384). Over the last ten years it has moved up 713 places. More babies were named Waverly in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Waverly a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Waverly in the US.
Where is Waverly most popular?
In 2021–2025, Waverly was most common in Mississippi (0.96 per 1,000 girls), followed by West Virginia and Kentucky.