Paizley
A variant spelling of the name Paisley, of Scottish origin referring to a textile design.
Name Census estimates that about 1,388 living Americans carry the first name Paizley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paizley today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paizley births was 2013 (117 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paizley. 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.
Key insights
- • Paizley is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 246,941 Americans
Peak year
2013
117 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,359
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Paizley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paizley from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 953 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paizley 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 Paizley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paizleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Utah, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Paizley, while Washington, South Dakota, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Paizley
The name Paizley is a modern invented name that does not have a clear historical origin or etymology. It is believed to be a creative spelling variation of the Scottish place name Paisley, which is derived from the Brittonic words "pascual" meaning "a valley" and "lethe" meaning "smooth."
While the place name Paisley dates back to the 12th century, the given name Paizley does not appear to have any recorded usage until very recently in the 20th and 21st centuries. It gained popularity as a feminine given name, likely inspired by the fashionable paisley pattern and the town of Paisley in Scotland.
There are no known historical references to the name Paizley in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to its modern invention. The earliest recorded examples of the name are likely found in birth records from the late 20th century onward.
Since the name is a modern creation, there are no famous historical figures or notable individuals with the first name Paizley from earlier periods. However, a few contemporary individuals with this name include Paizley Savot, a Canadian actress, and Paizley Isbell, an American child actress.
As a newly invented name, Paizley does not have a rich historical background or a long lineage of notable bearers. Its popularity is a recent phenomenon, driven by modern naming trends and a fascination with the paisley pattern and its Scottish associations.
People
Paizley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paizley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paizley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paizley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paizley 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 246,941 US residents.
Is Paizley a common name?
We classify Paizley as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paizley most popular?
The single biggest year for Paizley was 2013, when 117 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paizley is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paizley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paizley in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.