Parley
A once nautical command for truce, now a given name suggesting discussion.
Name Census estimates that about 346 living Americans carry the first name Parley. It is a predominantly male name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Parley today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Parley births was 1918 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Parley. 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
346
~ 1 in 990,619 Americans
Peak year
1918
25 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,619
Tracked since 1880
Census
Parley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 457 people with the first name Parley, which placed it at #21,974 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,974
National first-name rank
People counted
457
457 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parley is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Parley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Parley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 429
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 13
- Black or African American1.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Parley
Out of the 679 babies given the name Parley since 1880, 99.1% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Parley as a male name
- Ranked #9,619 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (25 births)
Parley as a female name
- Ranked #14,815 in 2021
- 6 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2021 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Parley leans strongly male. 404 people counted with this name were male (88.4%), compared with 53 female bearers (11.6%).
Popularity
Parley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Parley from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 126 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Parley 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 Parley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Parleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Parley
The name Parley is of English origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old French verb "parler," meaning "to speak" or "to talk." The name likely originated as a descriptive term or nickname for someone who was known for their eloquence, persuasive speaking abilities, or perhaps as a mediator or negotiator.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Parley appears in the works of Shakespeare. In his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor," written around 1597, there is a character named Parley, although it is unclear if this was meant to be a given name or a nickname.
Historically, the name Parley has been associated with diplomacy and negotiations. In the 17th century, during the English Civil War, the term "parley" was used to describe a temporary truce or cease-fire between opposing forces to allow for negotiations or the exchange of prisoners.
One notable bearer of the name Parley was Parley Parker Pratt (1807-1857), an early leader and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was known for his missionary work and writings, including his autobiography and a book titled "A Voice of Warning."
Another historical figure with the name Parley was Parley P. Pratt Jr. (1837-1897), the son of the aforementioned Parley P. Pratt. He was also an LDS Church leader and served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In the 19th century, there was a British politician named Parley Chamberlayne (1816-1899), who served as a Member of Parliament for Southampton from 1868 to 1880.
A more recent figure with the name Parley was Parley Baer (1914-2002), an American actor known for his roles in television shows such as "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Waltons."
While not a common name today, Parley has a rich history and connections to communication, diplomacy, and notable individuals throughout history.
People
Parley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Parley 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
Parley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Parley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 346 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Parley 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 990,619 US residents.
Is Parley a common name?
We classify Parley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 679 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Parley most popular?
The single biggest year for Parley was 1918, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Parley is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Parley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 457 people with the name Parley, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,974 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Parley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Parley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Parley leans strongly male. 404 people counted with this name were male (88.4%), compared with 53 female bearers (11.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Parley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Parley is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Black (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Parley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Parley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (429 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Parley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Parley a male name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Parley 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 Parley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Parley 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 Parley 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.
How many Americans are named Parley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Parley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.