Given name & surname
Westley
“from the western meadow”
Westley is a variant of Wesley. One English interpretation is “from the western meadow.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Westley is a variant of Wesley. One English interpretation is “from the western meadow.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Westley is a variant of Wesley. An origin associated with Wesley is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Old English west + lēah (“westerly wood or clearing”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1887. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Westley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,184
- 10,119 boys · 65 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 462 babies
- 2025
- 462
- #619 for boys · #10,868 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +42%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 453 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 619 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 40.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 9 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (41). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,052 as a first name in 2020; 1,911 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.
Westley’s family of names
Westley has a related form in Wesley.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Westley
- Wes MorganJamaican association football player (born 1984)
- Wes MooreAmerican politician, investment banker, author and television producerborn 1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Westley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Woods
“a woman of the forest” · “a man of the forest”
98% boys · 2% girls
Rowen
“of the red-berry tree”
77% boys · 23% girls
Rio
“woman of the river” · “from the river”
79% boys · 21% girls
Usher
“from the mouth of the river” · “from. the mouth of the river”
>99% boys
Arlo
“from the barberry tree”
96% boys · 4% girls
Jett
“resembling the jet-black lustrous gemstone”
98% boys · 2% girls
Ford
“from the water” · “from the river crossing”
>99% boys
Wytley
“from the white meadow”
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