Stanley (surname)
Stanley is both a family name and a masculine given name dating from the 11th and 12th century English contraction of 'Stoney Meadow' (Stone/Stan Leigh). It is also the name of a number of places, and has other miscellaneous uses.
Persons named Stanley
- Aileen Stanley (1897–1982), American popular singer
- Allan Stanley (born 1926), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Alessandra Stanley, American journalist
- Arthur Penrhyn Stanley (1815–1881), English churchman, dean of Westminster
- Barney Stanley (1893–1971), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Bob Stanley (born 1954), American former baseball player
- Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin politician
- Charles Stanley (chess player) (1819–1901), English-American chess champion
- Charles Stanley (pastor) (born 1933), American evangelist
- David S. Stanley (1828–1902), Union general in the American Civil War and Medal of Honor recipient
- Edward Stanley (bishop), (1779–1849), English bishop of Norwich
- Fiona Stanley (born 1946), Australian epidemiologist
- Florence Stanley (20th century), American actress
- Francis Edgar Stanley (1849–1918), co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer
- Frank C. Stanley, late 19th-early 20th c. American popular singer; stage name for William S. Grinsted
- Freelan O. Stanley (1849–1940), co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer and founder of the Stanley Hotel
- Frederick Trent Stanley (19th century), American industrialist, founder of Stanley Works
- George F.G. Stanley (1907–2002), Canadian historian and designer of the Canadian flag
- Harry Stanley (1953–1999), Scottish painter and decorator mistakenly shot dead by the police
- Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904), Welsh-American journalist and explorer, searched for Dr. Livingstone
- Ian Stanley (born 1957), British musician
- James Stanley, author of Smith's Journal
- James Stanley, American producer, writer and actor
- King John I Stanley of the Isle of Man (c. 1350 – 1414)
- King John II Stanley of the Isle of Man (c. 1386 – 1437)
- John Stanley (composer) (1712–1786), English composer and organist
- John Stanley (chief secretary) (18th century), Chief Secretary for Ireland 1713–1714
- John Stanley (comic artist) (1914–1993), American comic artist (Little Lulu)
- John L. Stanley (1937–1998), American professor in political philosophy
- John Stanley (politician) (born 1942), British politician
- John Mix Stanley (1814–1872), American painter
- Kim Stanley (1925–2001), American actress
- Michael Stanley (born 1948), American rock singer
- Mickey Stanley (born 1942), American baseball player
- Mike Stanley (born 1963), American baseball player
- Mike Stanley (rower) (born 1958), New Zealand rower
- Millicent Preston-Stanley (1883–1955), Australian feminist and politician
- Oliver Stanley (1896–1950), British politician
- Owen Stanley (1811–1850), British naval captain
- Owsley Stanley (born 1935), American "underground" chemist, mass produced LSD
- Paco Stanley (1942–1999), Mexican television entertainer, assassinated
- Paul Stanley (born 1952), American rock guitarist and vocalist
- Ralph Stanley (born 1927), American bluegrass musician, one of the Stanley Brothers
- Richard Stanley (film director) (born 1966), South African-born film director
- Richard P. Stanley (born 1944), American mathematician at MIT
- Richard Stanley (politician) (1920–1983), British Conservative Party Member of Parliament 1950–1966
- Robbie Stanley (born 1967), American auto racing driver
- Steven J. C. Stanley, Jamaican audio engineer and producer
- Steven M. Stanley, paleontologist
- The Stanley Brothers, Carter and Ralph, American bluegrass musicians
- Thomas Stanley (author) (1625–1678), English author and translator
- Thomas Bahnson Stanley (1890–1970), American politician, governor of Virginia 1954–1958
- Venetia Stanley (1600–1633), English courtesan
- Venetia Stanley (1887-1948) (1887–1948), English socialite, intimate friend of Herbert Henry Asquith
- Wendell Meredith Stanley (1904–1971), American biochemist, virologist, and Nobel prize laureate
- William Stanley (Battle of Bosworth) (?–1485), Brother of Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby); fought at the Battle of Bosworth Field
- William Stanley (Elizabethan) (1548–1630), English military commander, under Queen Elizabeth I
- William Stanley, Jr. (1858–1916), American physicist
- Winifred C. Stanley, (1909–1996)U.S Representative from New York
English nobility and gentry
- any of the seven Baronets Stanley of Alderley Hall, and the succeeding eight Barons Stanley
- Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield (1874–1948}, President of the Board of Trade, chairman of London Passenger Transport Board
- Lady Anne Stanley (1580–1647), possible heir to the English throne
- Anne Stanley, Countess of Ancram (1600–1656/7), wife of the 1st Earl of Ancram
- Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley, name used by many generations of the Stanley family
- Edward John Stanley, 6th Baron Sheffield and Stanley of Alderley (1907–1971)
- Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby (1531–1593)
- James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (1607–1651)
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (1435–1504)
- William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (1584–1642)