# Hayley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/hayley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “hay”, “wood”, “clearing”, “lea” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈheɪli/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Hailey, Haley, Hailie, Haylee, Hayleigh, Haylie, Hayle |
| US babies named this | 51,449 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 46 / 51,403 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6,051, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Localities in England, from Old English hēg (“hay”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to hay + -ley (“lea”).

## What it means

Hayley is grouped under forest.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 728 | 431 |
| 2012 | 678 | 459 |
| 2013 | 546 | 544 |
| 2014 | 598 | 517 |
| 2015 | 566 | 548 |
| 2016 | 479 | 623 |
| 2017 | 496 | 612 |
| 2018 | 472 | 632 |
| 2019 | 415 | 697 |
| 2020 | 423 | 674 |
| 2021 | 409 | 704 |
| 2022 | 338 | 829 |
| 2023 | 266 | 971 |
| 2024 | 232 | 1,071 |
| 2025 | 179 | 1,251 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 6 | 7,334 |
| 1992 | 6 | 7,814 |
| 1993 | 6 | 8,009 |
| 1995 | 5 | 9,373 |
| 1997 | 5 | 9,811 |
| 2000 | 5 | 11,018 |
| 2004 | 13 | 5,928 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 127 | 370 |
| 2012 | 110 | 414 |
| 2013 | 109 | 393 |
| 2014 | 97 | 448 |
| 2015 | 81 | 532 |
| 2016 | 83 | 516 |
| 2017 | 60 | 683 |
| 2018 | 78 | 536 |
| 2019 | 83 | 496 |
| 2020 | 76 | 525 |
| 2021 | 78 | 521 |
| 2022 | 71 | 550 |
| 2023 | 88 | 451 |
| 2024 | 78 | 503 |
| 2025 | 83 | 478 |

## People named Hayley

- Hayley Williams, American singer
- Hayley Atwell, English and American actress (born 1982)
- Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer (born 1991)
- Hayley Mills, British actress (born 1946)
- Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey and softball player
- Hayley McFarland, American actress
- Hayley Raso, Australian soccer player
- Hayley Arceneaux, American private astronaut
- Hayley Orrantia, American actress, singer, and songwriter
- Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer, Olympic silver medallist, world champion
- Hayley Carter, American tennis player
- Hayley Law, Canadian film and television actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.