Moxley Name Meaning & Historical Trends

Moxley

Pronunciation: MOX-lee

Meaning Mocc's woodland clearing Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#13,278
TREND
265

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Moxley in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Moxley

  • 119 babies named Moxley: U.S. records list 119 babies given the name Moxley from 1880 through 2025. Even 22 girls received the name Moxley - about 1 girl for every 4 boys.

What Does the Name Moxley Mean?

Moxley is an English habitational name, usually explained as meaning "Mocc's woodland clearing" or "the clearing of a man called Mocc." It is built from an Old English personal name, Mocc or Mocca, plus Old English lēah, "wood, glade, woodland clearing." That second element is the source of the -ley ending in a great many English place names and surnames, and it referred to a patch of woodland that had been opened up for settlement or grazing.

The first element is the uncertain part. No independent record of a man named Mocc survives, so the personal name is reconstructed from the place name itself rather than documented on its own. The -x- in the modern spelling is commonly taken to stand for an earlier -cs-, the possessive ending attached to that name (along the lines of Mocces lēah), which is how a name ending in -c could come to be written with an x in Middle English. The name is therefore a description of a piece of land rather than a statement about a person or a quality. It is not related to the similar-looking Mosley, whose first element is generally traced to Old English mōs, "moss."

Moxley Name History & Origins

Moxley starts out as a place name in the English Midlands. A village of that name lies in the historic county of Staffordshire, in the district around Darlaston and Wednesbury that now forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands. Settlements formed from a personal name plus lēah belong to the Old English period, when wooded land was being cleared and occupied, and Moxley is a name of that type.

Surnames of this kind appeared mainly in the later Middle Ages. A person who left the village would be identified by it, often in Latin records with de, "of," as in de Moxley, and such a byname could then become hereditary in a family. The surname Moxley is associated chiefly with Staffordshire and neighboring counties, and it spread with English emigration to North America, Australia, and elsewhere.

Use of Moxley as a first name is a later development and belongs to the general English practice of turning surnames into given names. It is uncommon as a given name and appears mostly in the United States. The surname also has a modern public profile: the American professional wrestler Jonathan Good has competed under the ring name Jon Moxley.

How Popular is the Name Moxley?

Moxley 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 2022. Its best rank was #6,713 in 2022.

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.

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 Moxley Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.

Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.

✦ Moxley's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Moxley's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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