Motley
Derived from the Old English word for "having diverse colors or patterns".
Name Census estimates that about 215 living Americans carry the first name Motley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Motley today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Motley births was 2022 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Motley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
215
~ 1 in 1,594,206 Americans
Peak year
2022
53 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,024
Tracked since 2010
Gender
Gender distribution for Motley
Motley is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 216 total registrations, 133 (61.6%) were male and 83 (38.4%) were female.
Motley as a male name
- Ranked #4,024 in 2024
- 27 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (42 births)
Motley as a female name
- Ranked #6,824 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (26 births)
Popularity
Motley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Motley from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 200 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Motley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Motley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Motleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Motley
The given name Motley has its roots in the Old English word "mot" or "mott," meaning a gathering or assembly. This term was later adopted into Middle English as "motley," referring to a diverse or varied group of people or things. The name itself likely originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational surname during the Middle Ages, perhaps given to a person who worked with or belonged to a diverse group.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Motley can be found in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," written in the late 14th century. In the Prologue, Chaucer introduces a character called "the Motley," a jester or fool whose garments were made of various colors and patterns, representing the diversity and contrast of his role.
Throughout history, the name Motley has been associated with individuals who stood out from the crowd or embraced a unique and unconventional spirit. One notable example is John Motley (1609-1677), an English writer and historian known for his work "The History of the United Netherlands," which chronicled the Dutch struggle for independence from Spanish rule.
Another prominent figure with the name Motley was John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877), an American author and diplomat who served as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War era. His literary works, such as "The Rise of the Dutch Republic" and "The United Netherlands," explored themes of liberty and resistance against oppression.
In the realm of art and literature, Motley is the surname of the American novelist John Phillips Motley (1875-1908), best known for his novel "The Mucker." Additionally, Motley Crews III (1935-2003) was an American writer and poet who explored themes of African-American culture and identity in his works.
It is worth noting that while the name Motley has been used as a first name throughout history, it is more commonly encountered as a surname or occupational descriptor. Nevertheless, the name's association with diversity, unconventionality, and artistic expression has left an indelible mark on various cultural and historical contexts.
People
Motley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Motley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Motley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Motley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Motley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,594,206 US residents.
Is Motley a common name?
We classify Motley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 216 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Motley most popular?
The single biggest year for Motley was 2022, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Motley is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Motley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Motley a male name?
Yes, 61.6% of people registered as Motley in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Motley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Motley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Motley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Motley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.