# Hadley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/hadley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 21,771 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,653 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 14,182 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.1% (20,710 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhædli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Adley, Hadlee, Hadleigh |

## Etymology

From Old English hǣþ (“heath”) + Old English leah (“woodland clearing”). Equivalent to heath (compare Heath) + -ley.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hadley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 77% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 16% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hadley in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Hadley

- Stephen Hadley, American attorney and senior government official (born 1947)
- Reed Hadley, American actor (1911–1974)
- Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer (1871-1937)
- Jerry Hadley, American opera singer (1952–2007)
- Patrick Hadley, British composer (1899–1973)
- James Hadley, American classical philologist (1821–1872)
- Herbert S. Hadley, American politician (1872–1927)
- Tessa Hadley, British author of novels, short stories and non-fiction

## Similar surnames

Headley, Hatley, Hoadley, Haydel, Heatley, Headlee, Hittle, Heidel, Huddle, Hodel, Heatwole.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.