Whitlee
Whitlee was the 3247th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 49 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 3044th with 55 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 513 places. More babies were named Whitlee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Whitley) white clearing (English place name) · Old English
- Rank in 2025
- #3,247 girls, up 526 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 49girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 202355 babies
- Total since 1880
- 943babies recorded
What does the name Whitlee mean?
Whitlee is a spelling of Whitley, pronounced the same way, so it shares Whitley's meaning and origin.
Whitley is an English place name and surname from Old English hwīt, white, and lēah, woodland clearing, so "white clearing," according to Wiktionary. There are several English places called Whitley, including a suburb of Reading and a village in North Yorkshire. As a given name it has been used in the US for boys since 1914 and for girls since 1984.
hwīt (Old English, “white”)lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing”)
How sure is this? Well established. Wiktionary only.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names that mean a color, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Whitley' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Whitlee popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 13 since 2022, 7 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,247 | 49 |
| 2020 | #3,773 | 39 |
| 2010 | #7,202 | 18 |
| 2000 | #11,756 | 8 |
| 1990 | #4,688 | 21 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Whitlee, counting every spelling?
Whitlee is a spelling of Whitley, a name family that ranked #623 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #3,247 for Whitlee on its own. Together these spellings went to 469 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitley | 420 | #677 | 1,856 |
| Whitlee | 49 | #3,247 | 253 |
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 Whitlee?
49 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Whitlee (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Whitlee 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 171 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Whitlee.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Whitlee?
About 900 people born in the US named Whitlee are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 19. That makes Whitlee 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.
Whitlee by state
How common Whitlee was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 47 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 Whitlee: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Whitlee, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Whitlee
What does Whitlee mean?
Whitlee is a spelling of Whitley, which means “white clearing (English place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Whitlee?
Whitlee was the 3247th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 49 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 3044th with 55 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 513 places. More babies were named Whitlee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Whitlee a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Whitlee in the US.
Where is Whitlee most popular?
In 2021–2025, Whitlee was most common in Tennessee (0.11 per 1,000 girls), followed by Alabama and Texas.