The Stanley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 96,867 people carried this name — #321 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,050 people counted. That is up 3% from 93,817 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Stanley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Stanley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Stanley’.

An early record he cites: Johannes de Staynlay, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 713 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 21 births for the Stanley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 900 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 9
Munster 8
Ulster 4

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 184 people named Stanley live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 140
City of Buenos Aires 26
Córdoba 18

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

48 people named Stanley live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 15
Vaud 13
Bern 6
Geneva 5
St. Gallen 5
Basel-Landschaft 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 25 people named Stanley.

Most of them — 18 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 18
Paris 2
Loire-Atlantique 1
Nord 1
Seine-Maritime 1
Vosges 1
French Guiana 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

118 people named Stanley is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 118

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Stanley was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Gloucestershire: 24 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 417. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Gloucestershire 24
Warwickshire 15

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Stanley was recorded 17 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1299th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 30. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

241 families named Stanley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,387 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Stanley, Standley, Standly, Stanlay, Stanly. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 58
Connecticut 46
Massachusetts 36
Maine 23
New Hampshire 18
South Carolina 16
Virginia 13
Pennsylvania 12
Vermont 10
Maryland 5
New York 3
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 263 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Stanley in American newspapers,
1890–1930.

Newspaper page from The Poplar Standard carrying the name Stanley
The Poplar Standard 1930-10-16
Newspaper page from Scott County Kicker carrying the name Stanley
Scott County Kicker 1911-07-15
Newspaper page from The Sun carrying the name Stanley
The Sun 1890-11-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 41,104 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Stanley in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

374,287 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stanley. The most, 79,315, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 107,312
New South Wales 101,922
Victoria 72,407
South Australia 42,689
Western Australia 27,251
Tasmania 18,365
ACT (Canberra) 2,294
Northern Territory 335

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Stanley.

Who carried it

People named Stanley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Stanley
    Thomas Stanley d. 1571 · politician
  • Robert Stanley d. 1632 · politician
  • Thomas Stanley d. 1569 · Anglican priest
  • Ken Stanley d. 2025 · basketball player
  • John Stanley d. 1437 · politician
  • Edward Stanley d. 1789 · official

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Stanley,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States7,191 records

7,191 records of the Stanley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,961
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,343
  • Other U.S. records 2,887
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Don Scott Stanley

    Born 1948; from Albuquerque, New Mexico. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert M. Stanley

    Born 1904 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; credit man. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1986, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Stanley

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of New York from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 27; waitress. From Liverpool, England; bound for Newark.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 7,191 records for Stanley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,797 records

2,797 records of the Stanley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,267
  • Tasmanian Names Index 590
  • Other Australian records 940
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Benjamin Stanley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Coromandel, sailing from Sheerness in 1838. Native of Sheffield, Yorkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Blizard Stanley

    Died 1855 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 49. Will registered in Tasmania in 1855.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ada Mary Stanley

    Born 1874 in Clarence, Tasmania. Married 1891 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 18.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,797 records for Stanley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada282 records

282 records of the Stanley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 112
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 52
  • Other Canadian records 118
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Richard Stanley

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Peggy, bound for Port Roseway, aged 39.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Frank Stanley

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Circassian, landing at Quebec, bound for Widder, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Edith Stanley

    Buried in 1994 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 91.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 282 records for Stanley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom103 records

103 records of the Stanley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 81
  • Stirling Council burial records 9
  • Other British records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Stanley

    Buried in 1955 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 79.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Stanley

    Buried in 1808 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 58.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Martha Stanley

    Will proved in 1920; of Bangor, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 103 records for Stanley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand66 records

66 records of the Stanley name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 59
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 4
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alice Stanley

    Died 1958, aged 84; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Ruth Hadden Stanley

    Died 1996, aged 63; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Albert Belgium Stanley

    Buried in 1938 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 23.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 66 records for Stanley in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France6 records

6 records of the Stanley name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Anna Therese Stanley

    Born 1900 in Mauritius; died 1990 in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Edward Alan Stanley

    Born 1936 in the United Kingdom; died 1992 in Cahors (Lot).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Stanley in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Stanley name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Le Roy Samuel Stanley

    Married in 1945 in Groningen.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George Stanley

    Married in 1926 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Stanley in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Stanley name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Simonna Stanley

    Born 1920 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Stanley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Stanley is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Stanley volume
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