Stanley

STAN-lee

English

"near the stony clearing"

Stanley Origin and Meaning

The name Stanley is a boy's name of English origin meaning "near the stony clearing".

Although Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire personified brute force, most Stanleys have been portrayed as meek milquetoasts. It has a totally "old-man" or "grandpa" vibe that may appeal to those who like Walter and Rupert or Daphne and Mabel.

Stanley came to popularity initially via the explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who made historic contact with Dr. Livingston in Africa in 1871. Noted US namesakes include movie directors Stanley Kramer and Stanley Kubrick and actor Stanley Tucci.

Stanley had a long run in the Top 100--from 1890 to 1959, and ranked in the England and Wales Top 100 in 2023.

Stanley Rank in US Top 1000

# 875 in the US

Stanley Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 456 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Stanley

• 875 US 2024
• 456 Nameberry 2025
• 679 Future 2028
• 90 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Stanley

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Stanley.

• Frank
• Clifford
• Norman
• Ralph
• Roger
• Howard
• Harold
• Sidney
• Arnold
• Gordon
• Franklin
• Clyde
• Fred
• Douglas
• Chester
• Bernard
• Roy
• Reginald
• Moses
• Herbert

Famous People Named Stanley

• Stanley Kubrick American film director
• Stanley Tucci American actor
• Arthur Stanley Jefferson birth name of Stan Laurel, English comedian of duo Laurel and Hardy
• Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial American baseball player
• Stanley Melbourne Bruce 8th Prime Minister of Australia
• Stanley Baldwin Ex,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Stanley Augustus Holloway English actor
• Stanley Martin Lieber birth name of comic book creator Stan Lee, marvel, the best of all time.
• Stanley "Stan" Getz American jazz saxophonist
• Stanley Milgram American social psychologist
• Stanley Weber French actor
• Stanley Owen Green aka Protein Man English human billboard
• Stanley Cohen American biochemist; winner of the Nobel Prize
• Stanley Benjamin Prusiner American neurologist; winner of the Nobel Prize
• Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith American tennis player
• Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton American jazz pianist
• Stanley Allison "Stan" Rogers Canadian singer,songwriter
• Stanley William "Stan" Tracey English jazz pianist
• Stanley Bernard "Stan" Galazin American NFL football player
• Stanley Gavin (b. 2011) son of singer Dido and Rohan Gavin
• Michael Stanley Dukakis American politician; 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts

The name Stanley in Pop Culture

• Stanley Kowalski character in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
• Stanley Griff main character in children's books and animated TV series "Stanley"
• Stanley Hudson character on TV's "The Office"
• Stanley "Stan" Torres baby on TV's "Cougar Town"
• Stanley Yelnats main character in Louis Sachar's "Holes"
• Stanley "Stan" Marsh character in animated series "South Park"
• "Flat Stanley " children's book by Jeff Brown
• Stanley "Stan" Shunpike character in the "Harry Potter" series
• The Stanley Parable video game
• The Stanley Cup championship trophy of The National Hockey League
• Grunkle (Great Uncle) Stanley Pines "Stan" character in the animated series "Gravity Falls", twin to Stanford "Ford"
• Stanley Uris character in Stephen King's "It"
• Stanley "Stan" Shunpike character in "Harry Potter"
• Stanley Ipkiss main character played by Jim Carrey in the 1994 Film "The Mask"
• Stanley Roper character on TV series "Three's Company"