Home › Baby Names Directory › Waverly

Waverly

♀ Girl

Pronounced WAY-ver-lee /ˈweɪ.vər.li/High

Meaning: Quaking aspen meadow; from Old English wafre (quivering) + leah (clearing, meadow)Medium

In 30 seconds: An English place-name surname meaning 'quaking aspen meadow,' made famous by Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels — the first great series of historical fiction in English literature.

💕 Browse more names

Origin MediumEnglish

MeaningQuaking aspen meadow; from Old English wafre (quivering) + leah (clearing, meadow)

U.S. rank (2024)#916 ↘ Falling

2024 U.S. births289 girls (0.02% of U.S. girls)

Peak year2022

Total births (all-time)≈ 4,314

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Waverly (or Waverley) is believed to derive from Old English wafre (quivering, swaying) and leah (woodland clearing), suggesting a meadow of trembling aspens. It is the name of a village in Surrey, England, which gave its name to Waverley Abbey and inspired Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel.

As a given name, Waverly appeared in U.S. charts from the 2000s onward, gaining momentum from the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012). It ranked #916 for girls in 2024.

Did you know? Sir Walter Scott's Waverley (1814) was published anonymously for years; Scott was so famous that readers guessed his authorship from the outset, but he maintained the mystery until 1827, fueling one of literary history's great open secrets.

Overall data confidence 80%

Behind the Name — Waverly — etymologyU.S. Social Security Administration — popularity data

Variations

WaverleyWaverly

Nicknames

WavieWaveWavi

Famous Bearers

★Edward Waverley (fictional, 1814)
The titular hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverley (1814), widely regarded as one of the first historical novels in Western literature. A young English officer drawn into the 1745 Jacobite rising in Scotland, Waverley's story gave Scott's entire series of more than two dozen Waverley Novels its name, cementing this literary identity for over two centuries.

If you like Waverly…

Hadley— three-syllable Old English -ley place-name surname popular for girls

Harley— two-syllable -ley surname name with the same outdoor feel

Brinley— three-syllable -ley-ending girl name from the same naming wave

Presley— three-syllable -ley surname name with the same soft femininity

Kimberly— classic three-syllable -ley name in the same -erlee sound family

Explore names like Waverly

By themeenglish nature place-name surname-style literary

By meaningEarth / Nature

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Waverly mean?

Waverly means 'quaking aspen meadow,' from Old English wafre (quivering) and leah (meadow). The exact etymology is uncertain.

How do you pronounce Waverly?

It's said WAY-ver-lee — three syllables, stress on the first.

Is Waverly a boy or girl name?

Waverly is used primarily as a girls' name in the U.S.

How popular is Waverly?

Waverly ranked #916 for U.S. girls in 2024.