2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Standly
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "level or flat land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Standly. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Standly surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Standly in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Standly, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Standly
The surname Standly has its roots in England, originating during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "stan" meaning stone and "leah" meaning a clearing or meadow, indicating that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a stony clearing or meadow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Standly can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was already established in England by the late 11th century.
Variations in spelling were common throughout history, and the name Standly has appeared in various forms, such as Standley, Standleigh, and Standlie, among others. These variations often reflected local dialects and scribal interpretations.
In the 13th century, records show a William de Standley who held lands in Staffordshire. The "de" prefix indicated that he was from the place called Standley, which may have been the original location associated with the surname.
One notable figure bearing the name Standly was Sir John Standly (1460-1512), a prominent English soldier and courtier who served under King Henry VII and King Henry VIII. He played a crucial role in the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487 and was later appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
Another historical figure was William Standly (1509-1548), who served as Bishop of Salisbury during the tumultuous period of the English Reformation under Henry VIII and Edward VI.
In the 17th century, John Standly (1592-1637) was a renowned English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Standly name in America was Thomas Standly, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and later settled in Maryland.
The Standly surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Standley in Gloucestershire, Standley Hill in Lancashire, and Standley Park in Worcestershire, further reinforcing its geographic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Standly
Among Census respondents with the surname Standly, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Standly bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Standly surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 89
- Black or African American13.0% · 14
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Standly
Standly appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-11 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,550 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,588 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 19,550 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 2,588 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Standly surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #148,347 | #150,935 | -1.7% |
| Count | 111 | 108 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Standly bearers went from 111 to 108 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 2,588 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #150,935.
FAQ
Standly surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Standly?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Standly. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Standly?
Standly ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Standly. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Standly.
Has Standly become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Standly went from 111 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Standly?
Among Census respondents with the surname Standly, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Standly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Standly appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Black (13.0%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Standly (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Standly mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "level or flat land". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Standly (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Standly?
You can see how many people have the surname Standly on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.