Hayley

What Hayley means

Means “hay + wood, clearing”

Localities in England, from Old English hēg (“hay”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Hayley” (revision 87946216), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Hayley?

US: Falling: down from #548 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #532 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1996, when 2,577 girls got the name (#120 that year). First in the US records in 1960.

How common

• About 1 in 8,979 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,052 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 746 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (0.54 per 1,000 girls), VA (0.3 per 1,000 girls), NY (0.23 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Hayley is #1250 in the US and #478 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Hayley were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Hailey2,556 US · 115 E&W
• Haley314 US · 4 E&W
• Hailee163 US · 7 E&W
• Haylee153 US · 3 E&W
• Halley43 US · 9 E&W
• Hallee43 US
• Holley40 US
• Haylo21 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Hayley

Girls

• Taylor#403From the word “tailor”^*
• Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025
• Paige#346possibly “servant”^*
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
• Brooke#313Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1996, with 6,724 babies; 972 in 2025
• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025

For a brother

• Dillon#929Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1992, with 5,062 babies; 253 in 2025
• Spencer#360Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1998, with 4,619 babies; 908 in 2025
• Brandon#261“broom shrub + hill, dune”^*
• Tyler#219“tiler”^*
• Mitchell#952Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,370 babies; 245 in 2025
• Kyle#508“narrows”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Hayley’s. Rank is US 2025.