Wylie is an English and Scottish surname turned first name, drawn either from the River Wylye in Wiltshire, whose name is Celtic and means "tricky stream", or from a Scottish pet form of William. The spelling also calls to mind the English word wily, giving the name a sly, clever charm. In the United States Wylie has climbed slowly from number 2221 in 2000 to number 1182 in 2025, its best rank on record.