Meaning: Its source is an Old English expression meaning "Crafty."

Popularity: The name Wiley ranked 652nd in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: The Oxford English Dictionary tentatively traces the origin of the English word ''wily'' to certain British place names. One of these is Wiley, the name of both a village and a river in England.

In modern usage, to be wily (meaning ''crafty'') is generally negative, but the source of the term was probably more literal, referring to mechanical ability.

The ''-ley'' ending also suggests a possible derivation from the Old English term leah, meaning ''meadow,'' ''field'' or ''place.'' It could be that Wiley developed as the name for a crafts center -- the place where one could find a blacksmith, a cooper, a sawyer and other craftsmen.