Fun Facts About the Name Isley
- More than 1 thousand babies named Isley: U.S. records list 1,473 babies given the name Isley from 1880 through 2025. Even 294 boys received the name Isley - about 1 boy for every 4 girls.
What Does the Name Isley Mean?
Isley is an English habitational surname, usually derived from the place name Isley Walton in Leicestershire. That place name comes from Old English and means "Isa's woodland clearing" or "clearing of Isa." Its first element is the Old English personal name Isa, and its second is lēah, which can be translated as "wood," "clearing," or "meadow." The usual meaning is therefore a literal place-name description, not a symbolic one. As a first name, Isley is a transferred use of the surname rather than a name with a separate etymological root.
Isley Name History & Origins
The surname Isley is habitational, meaning it was originally given to people who came from a place called Isley. The principal place is Isley Walton in Leicestershire, England, which is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Islei. The place name was formed from the Old English personal name Isa and the word lēah, so it described a clearing or woodland associated with Isa. Over time, families who moved away from the place kept Isley as a surname. English surnames of this type became hereditary in the later Middle Ages.
As a given name, Isley is a transferred use of the surname. It follows the English and American practice of using surnames as first names. The surname is familiar in American culture through the Isley Brothers, the R&B group formed in the 1950s, but this is a notable surname use rather than evidence that the group created the first name.
How Popular is the Name Isley?
Isley has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2016. Its best rank was #2,099 in 2016.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,761 | 62 | 0.0039% |
| 2024 | #2,610 | 67 | 0.0042% |
| 2023 | #2,713 | 64 | 0.0040% |
| 2022 | #2,589 | 68 | 0.0041% |
| 2021 | #2,799 | 61 | 0.0037% |
| 2020 | #2,692 | 62 | 0.0038% |
| 2019 | #3,143 | 51 | 0.0030% |
| 2018 | #2,659 | 65 | 0.0038% |
| 2017 | #2,820 | 60 | 0.0035% |
| 2016 | #2,099 | 93 | 0.0052% |
| 2015 | #2,596 | 69 | 0.0039% |
| 2014 | #2,118 | 91 | 0.0051% |
| 2013 | #2,818 | 61 | 0.0035% |
| 2012 | #4,644 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2011 | #4,727 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2010 | #4,436 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2009 | #6,186 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2008 | #5,192 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2007 | #8,248 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #10,172 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #9,099 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #6,594 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #8,180 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #7,574 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2001 | #7,467 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2000 | #11,131 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #6,974 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #8,210 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #11,282 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #12,347 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #11,008 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #12,060 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #13,800 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6,251 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2024 | #7,941 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #6,672 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #6,980 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #7,808 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #5,810 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2019 | #6,560 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #8,425 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #5,905 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #4,521 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #5,837 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #6,109 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #9,116 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #6,773 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #6,758 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #6,833 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #7,401 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #6,548 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #11,461 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #11,179 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #9,307 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #10,062 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #7,267 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #9,739 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #11,056 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #7,430 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #8,913 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #9,286 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Isley Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You like to use the pen or the needle (writing, fashion design etc). You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Isley's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Isley's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.