unisex name
Marley
MAR-lee
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 57,849
the United States
#322
2025 births
Marley is a name of Old English origin meaning "boundary wood" or "pleasant meadow." It began as an English place name and surname, and its modern use as a first name honors Bob Marley.
- Marley is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2008, when 2,650 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,067 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Marley started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1914.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Marley over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 36 |
| 1920s | 80 |
| 1930s | 65 |
| 1940s | 51 |
| 1950s | 95 |
| 1960s | 52 |
| 1970s | 141 |
| 1980s | 616 |
| 1990s | 2,338 |
| 2000s | 10,291 |
| 2010s | 16,527 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,112 |
What Marley means
Marley means the clearing at the boundary, or in some readings the pleasant wood. The second element is leah, a woodland clearing; the first is less certain, giving the competing readings.
Where Marley comes from
Marley combines the Old English leah, a clearing in woodland, with a first element that is not securely identified — candidates include mearth, a marten, and gemǣre, a boundary, giving marten wood or boundary clearing. Several English villages carry the name and produced it as a surname. Its life as a first name is almost entirely modern and owes to Bob Marley, born 1945, whose global stature after his death in 1981 turned the surname into a given name. Dickens used Marley for Scrooge's dead partner, a much older and quite separate association.
Marley in use
Our data records Marley for both sexes and shows it stable, peaking in 2008, at 125 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1914, well before Bob Marley, but was barely used until the 1990s — the gap between first record and real use is the clearest sign that a name's modern life has a specific external cause.
How popular is Marley?
In 2025, Marley was given to 1,081 babies in the United States, ranking #322 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Marley is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Marley
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Marley also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Marley over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Marley
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Marley in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Marley
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Marley — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Marley
What does the name Marley mean?
Marley means "boundary wood" or "pleasant meadow," from the Old English leah, a woodland clearing.
Is Marley named after Bob Marley?
Its modern use as a first name is almost entirely down to him, though the surname and place name are far older.
Is Marley a boy's or a girl's name?
Both. Our data records it as unisex in England and Wales and in the United States.
How popular is the name Marley?
In 2025, Marley was given to 1,081 babies in the United States, ranking #322 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Marley?
Marley has 2 syllables.
When was Marley most popular?
Marley peaked in 2008, when 2,650 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Marley?
Marley is usually shortened to Mar.
Is Marley a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Marley currently ranks #125 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.