Waverly was originally called "Abington Center". In 1853, it was established as a borough within Pennsylvania; since there already was a place named "Abington" located near Philadelphia, the town was renamed "Waverly" after Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels, popular at that time. The borough, located within Lackawanna County, gave up its charter in 1920, because of the high cost to upgrade its main street to a state highway, and became part of Abington Township. On November 2, 2010, township residents voted to change the township's name from "Abington" to "Waverly", thus eliminating confusion with Abington Borough.