Likely from Old Norse Sól-ey, combining 'sun' and 'island,' giving it a bright nature meaning.
Soley — more often spelled Sóley in its native Icelandic — is a name rooted in the old Norse landscape itself. It translates literally as "sun island" or, in its botanical usage, as "buttercup," the bright yellow wildflower that carpets Icelandic fields in summer.
The name combines *sól* (sun) with *ey* (island), a suffix that in Old Norse naming often functions as a diminutive or term of endearment — so Sóley might be heard as "little sun" as much as "sun island." The buttercup connection is not incidental: in Scandinavian folk tradition, holding a buttercup under a child's chin to see if they like butter was a universal childhood ritual, and the flower's golden brightness made it a natural symbol for warmth and joy in a climate where sunlight was precious. Sóley has been used in Iceland for centuries as a traditional feminine given name, and Iceland's unusual naming culture — governed by the Icelandic Naming Committee and drawing heavily on the Old Norse lexicon — has preserved it where other Scandinavian countries have let similar nature names fade.
The Icelandic musician Sóley, born Sóley Stefánsdóttir, brought the name to international attention in the 2010s through her delicate, minimalist piano compositions, giving the name an artistic, ethereal association for global audiences. In the Anglicized spelling Soley, the name has begun appearing outside Iceland and Scandinavia, carried by parents drawn to its sunlit simplicity, its wild botanical roots, and the way it sounds like light coming through water.