Fun Facts About the Name Waverlee
- 86 babies named Waverlee: U.S. records list 86 babies given the name Waverlee from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Waverlee Mean?
Waverlee is a modern spelling of the English name Waverly, also written Waverley. It comes from an English place name made of two Old English elements: wæfre, meaning "wavering, quivering, or restless," and lēah, meaning "wood, clearing, or meadow." Read literally, the name describes a clearing or meadow of swaying, quivering trees.
Some popular glosses give the meaning as "meadow of quivering aspens" or "willow meadow." Those readings add a specific tree that the Old English elements themselves do not name, so they are customary interpretations rather than a literal translation. The -lee ending is a respelling of the older -ley or -ly, matching a pattern found in many recent English girl names; the spelling changes the look of the name but not its derivation.
Waverlee Name History & Origins
The source of the name is a place in Surrey, England, recorded in the Middle Ages in connection with Waverley Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded there in 1128. From that place came the English surname Waverley or Waverly, which passed to the given name.
The word became widely familiar through Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverley, published anonymously in 1814 and later the namesake of the group known as the Waverley Novels. Scott took the title from the surname of his main character, Edward Waverley, which in turn came from the old place name; the novel therefore spread a form that already existed rather than introducing it.
Waverly has been used as a personal name since at least the nineteenth century, initially more often for boys and later far more commonly for girls. Waverlee belongs to a set of recent respellings that substitute -lee for -ley, a style common in English-speaking countries since the late twentieth century. The particular spelling Waverlee has no separate etymology of its own; it is best understood as a variant of Waverly.
How Popular is the Name Waverlee?
Waverlee 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 #7,601 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.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #14,830 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2024 | #8,375 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2023 | #10,255 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #7,601 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2021 | #11,093 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #14,974 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #13,715 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2018 | #12,397 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #18,299 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #14,242 | 7 | 0.0004% |
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 Waverlee Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Waverlee's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Waverlee's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.