Given name & surname
Marley
“from the meadow near the lake”
Marley is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the meadow near the lake.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the meadow near the lake.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Old English mære (“boundary”), built from English mere#Etymology_2 (“boundary”) + -leigh (“lea”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Marley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 38,404
- 5,359 boys · 33,045 girls
- Most popular year
- 2008
- 2,650 babies
- 2025
- 1,081
- #322 for girls · #1,397 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 13% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 950 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 322 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 19.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,359 in 2008. It also appeared in 131 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (73). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 27,696 as a first name in 2020; 5,933 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Marley’s family of names
Marley has a related form in Marlee. Marley has a related form in Marlee. Marley has a related form in Marly.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Marleevariant · English
- Marleighvariant · English
- Marlievariant
- Marlivariant
- Marlyvariant
- Marleahvariant
- Marlevariant
- Marlvariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Marley
- Marley SheltonAmerican actressborn 1974
- Marley AkéFrench and Ivorian association football playerborn 2001
- Marley DiasAmerican activist and writer
- Marley WatkinsWelsh footballer (born 1990)
- Lady BlackbirdLos Angeles-based vocalistborn 1985
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Marley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Harley
“from the meadow of the hares”
20% boys · 80% girls
Presley
“of the priest's town” · “from the priest's meadow”
7% boys · 93% girls
Autumn
“born in the fall”
>99% girls
Coral
Coral is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “resembling the semiprecious sea growth; from the reef.”
>99% girls
Summer
“refers to the season; born in summer”
>99% girls
Sky
“from the heavens”
22% boys · 78% girls
Whitley
“from the white meadow”
15% boys · 85% girls
Stella
“star of the sea”
>99% girls