Given name & surname
Morley
“woman from the moor”·“from the meadow on the moor”
Morley is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “woman from the moor” (English) and “from the meadow on the moor” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “woman from the moor” (English) and “from the meadow on the moor” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Morley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 566
- 518 boys · 48 girls
- Most popular year
- 1925
- 24 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 434 as a first name in 2020; 10,656 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.
Morley’s family of names
Morley has a related form in Moorlea. Morley has a related form in Moorleah. Morley has a related form in Moorlee.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 23
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Morley
- Morley SaferCanadian-American reporter and correspondent (1931-2016)
- Morley CallaghanCanadian writer (1903–1990)
- Morley GriswoldAmerican politician (1890–1951)
- Morley MuseNigerian-born renewable energy engineer
- Morley RobertsBritish writer (1857–1942)
- Morley BruceCanadian ice hockey defenceman (1894–1959)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Morley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mansfield
“from the field near the small river”
>99% boys
Harwood
“from the hare's forest”
>99% boys
Boswell
“from the spring near the forest”
>99% boys
Holmes
“from the river island”
>99% boys
Sherwood
“from the bright forest”
>99% boys
Glade
“from the meadow in the C woods” · “from the clearing in the woods”
>99% boys
Mannley
“from the hero's meadow; from the man's meadow”
>99% boys
Oakey
“from the oak-tree grove”
>99% boys