Dudley

Did you know?

A few things about Dudley you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Dudley

Dudley R. Herschbach

American chemist

Choose Dudley and your child shares a first name with Dudley R. Herschbach, an American chemist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Dudley, like who?” Dudley R. Herschbach's Wikipedia article is available in 52 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Dudley R. Herschbach on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Conrad Erb, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 285,714 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Dudley, 6 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Dudley would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryDudley has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Dudleys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1881, when it ranked #289. Today it's #10,695, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowDudley was 2.0× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 140,845 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 285,714.
• 🍂TrendDudley has slipped 1,956 places over the last five years and now sits at #10,695. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningIn English, Dudley means “Dudda's meadow”.

About the name Dudley

Dudley is a boy name of English origin meaning “Dudda's meadow”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with D and ending in “-ley”. US birth records list Dudley for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked #289 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #10,695, with 6 babies.

Origin:English names