Hadley
Hadley was the 121st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,254 babies. Its best year was 2014, when it ranked 100th with 3,015 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 18 places. More babies were named Hadley in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning heather clearing (place name) · Old English
Say it HAD-lee /ˈhædli/
- Rank in 2025
- #121 girls, down 10 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,254girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20143,015 babies
- Total since 1880
- 48,691babies recorded
What does the name Hadley mean?
Hadley is an English place name and surname. Wiktionary derives it from Old English haeth, 'heath, heather', and leah, 'woodland clearing', so it described a clearing grown with heather; Wikipedia glosses it 'heather field'. As a given name it is a transferred surname that Wikipedia notes has risen for American girls since the 2010s, with spellings like Hadlee and Hadleigh.
hǣþ (Old English, “heath, heather”)lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Hadlee, Hadleigh, Heath.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Hadley', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Hadley (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Hadley
The usual nicknames for Hadley are Haddie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Hadley in the last five years, 5 were named Haddie, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haddie | Modern | #2,027 | 540 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Hadleys go by each one.
Hadley popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,096 since 1906, 12 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #121 | 2,254 |
| 2020 | #111 | 2,424 |
| 2010 | #217 | 1,440 |
| 2000 | #921 | 235 |
| 1990 | #2,413 | 51 |
| 1980 | #3,022 | 29 |
| 1970 | #4,327 | 13 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Hadley, counting every spelling?
Hadley is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #128 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #121 for Hadley on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,562 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadley | 2,254 | #121 | 11,971 |
| Hadlee | 281 | #931 | 1,571 |
| Hadlie | 27 | #4,920 | 131 |
| Hadli | — | — | 30 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Hadley?
2,254 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Hadley (0.63 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Hadley born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Hadley.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Hadley?
About 46,200 people born in the US named Hadley are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 14. That makes Hadley a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Hadley by state
How common Hadley was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (5.9×), Vermont (5.9×), North Dakota (5.3×), Montana (5.2×), South Dakota (4.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, New Mexico, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Hadley: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Hadley, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Hadley · Sibling names for Hadley
Questions about the name Hadley
What does Hadley mean?
Hadley means “heather clearing (place name)” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Hadley?
Hadley was the 121st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,254 babies. Its best year was 2014, when it ranked 100th with 3,015 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 18 places. More babies were named Hadley in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Hadley a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Hadley in the US.
Where is Hadley most popular?
In 2021–2025, Hadley was most common in Wyoming (8.68 per 1,000 girls), followed by Vermont and North Dakota.