Perley
Light grove or meadow from the English name elements prill and leah.
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Perley. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Perley today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Perley births was 1915 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Perley. 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
- • The typical person named Perley is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Perleys were born before 1953.
People living today
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
1915
30 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1964 SSA rank
#3,002
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Perley
Perley leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 32 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Perley as a male name
- Ranked #3,002 in 1964
- 9 male births in 1964
- Peak: 1915 (30 births)
Perley as a female name
- Ranked #5,085 in 1945
- 5 female births in 1945
- Peak: 1933 (6 births)
Popularity
Perley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Perley from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 225 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Perley 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 Perley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Perleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont recorded the most babies named Perley, while Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 68 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Perley
The name Perley has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "pear" and the suffix "-ley," which means a clearing or meadow. It emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries. The name likely referred to a person who lived near a pear orchard or a meadow where pear trees grew.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Perley dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landowners and their properties commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Perley in the county of Essex.
In the Middle Ages, the name Perley gained some prominence. A notable figure was Perley of Winchester, a 13th-century English priest and scholar who authored several religious texts and sermons. His works are preserved in the archives of the Winchester Cathedral.
During the Renaissance period, a prominent bearer of the name was Perley Wentworth (1501-1567), an English diplomat and courtier who served under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. He played a significant role in the negotiations between England and Spain during his time as an ambassador.
In the 17th century, Perley Aldrich (1623-1698) was a Puritan settler who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. He became a prominent figure in the town of Mendon, serving as a selectman and contributing to the establishment of the local church.
Another notable figure was Perley Morse (1779-1856), an American inventor and manufacturer from Massachusetts. He is credited with developing the first practical machine for manufacturing wooden buckets, which revolutionized the industry at the time.
During the 19th century, Perley Poore (1824-1893) was an American journalist and writer who served as the chief clerk of the United States Department of the Interior. He published several books, including "The Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe" and "Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis."
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Perley, but it has been used across various cultures and time periods, albeit with varying levels of popularity.
People
Perley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Perley 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
Perley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Perley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Perley 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 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Perley a common name?
We classify Perley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,052 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Perley most popular?
The single biggest year for Perley was 1915, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Perley is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Perley a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Perley 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.
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.