Stokely
A masculine English name derived from a place name.
Name Census estimates that about 170 living Americans carry the first name Stokely. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Stokely today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stokely births was 2024 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stokely. 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
170
~ 1 in 2,016,202 Americans
Peak year
2024
25 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,197
Tracked since 2013
Gender
Gender distribution for Stokely
Stokely leans heavily male at 88.3% of total registrations, but 20 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Stokely as a male name
- Ranked #5,197 in 2024
- 19 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (19 births)
Stokely as a female name
- Ranked #14,999 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (9 births)
Popularity
Stokely: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stokely 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 88 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
Stokely 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 Stokely during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stokely
The name Stokely is of Old English origin, derived from the Old English words "stoc" meaning "place" and "leah" meaning "a clearing in a wood or forest." It was originally a surname referring to someone who lived near a clearing in a wooded area.
In the late 16th century, the name Stokely began to be used as a given name, particularly among Puritan families in England and later in the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded examples of Stokely as a first name is Stokely Weston (1590-1644), an English explorer and colonist who helped establish the first permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown, Virginia.
Another notable figure with the name Stokely was Stokely Carmichael (1941-1998), an American civil rights activist and leader of the Black Power movement in the 1960s. He was instrumental in the development of the Black Panther Party and advocated for Black self-determination and empowerment.
In the 18th century, Stokely Grinnan (1734-1801) was a prominent Virginia planter and politician who served in the House of Burgesses and as a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1788, which ratified the United States Constitution.
Stokely Webster (1786-1855) was an American lexicographer and editor who worked on several editions of Webster's Dictionary, helping to standardize American English spelling and vocabulary.
Stokely Morgan (1842-1912) was a British-born American businessman and industrialist who founded the Morgan Crucible Company, a leading manufacturer of industrial ceramics and refractory materials.
While the name Stokely has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon, particularly in recent times. It has a distinct and unique quality, reflecting its Old English roots and connection to the natural world.
People
Stokely + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stokely as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Stokely: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stokely?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 170 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stokely 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 2,016,202 US residents.
Is Stokely a common name?
We classify Stokely as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stokely most popular?
The single biggest year for Stokely was 2024, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stokely is about 6 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 Stokely in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stokely a male name?
Yes, 88.3% of people registered as Stokely 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 Stokely still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stokely 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 Stokely 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 have the name Stokely?
See how many Americans are named Stokely on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.