Hailey
Hailey was the 104th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,556 babies. Its best year was 2010, when it ranked 19th; the most babies were born in 2003 (8,798). Over the last ten years it has moved down 40 places. More babies were named Hailey in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning hay clearing (surname) · Old English
Say it HAY-lee /ˈheɪli/
- Rank in 2025
- #104 girls, down 23 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,556girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20038,798 babies
- Total since 1880
- 181,710babies recorded
What does the name Hailey mean?
Hailey is a spelling of Hayley, an English surname from a place name that joins Old English heg, 'hay', and leah, 'clearing, meadow', so it described a meadow where hay was made. Wikipedia notes that the girl's name Hayley became popular after the English child actress Hayley Mills (born 1946) became famous, and the spellings Hailey and Haley later became very common in the US. Wiktionary describes the name as unisex but it is used mostly for girls.
hīeġ (Old English, “hay”)lēah (Old English, “clearing, meadow”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Hayley, Haley, Hailee, Haylee, Bailey.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Hailey', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Hayley', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Hailey popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 276 since 1922, 5 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #104 | 2,556 |
| 2020 | #81 | 3,157 |
| 2010 | #19 | 7,027 |
| 2000 | #35 | 7,829 |
| 1990 | #293 | 946 |
| 1980 | #1,485 | 81 |
| 1970 | #5,542 | 9 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Hailey, counting every spelling?
Hailey is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #81 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #104 for Hailey on its own. Together these spellings went to 3,582 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hailey | 2,556 | #104 | 14,222 |
| Haley | 314 | #861 | 2,147 |
| Hayley | 179 | #1,251 | 1,424 |
| Haylee | 153 | #1,419 | 1,046 |
| Hailee | 163 | #1,355 | 954 |
| Hailie | 125 | #1,658 | 545 |
| Haylie | 37 | #3,935 | 238 |
| Heily | 32 | #4,392 | 124 |
| Haily | 17 | #6,638 | 76 |
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 Hailey?
2,556 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Hailey (0.71 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Hailey 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 3 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Hailey.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Hailey?
About 179,500 people born in the US named Hailey are alive today, with a median age of 20; half are between 13 and 25. That makes Hailey mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Hailey by state
How common Hailey was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Hawaii (2.7×), Delaware (2.7×), Connecticut (2.6×), New Jersey (2.4×), New Mexico (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Hailey: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Hailey, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Hailey · Sibling names for Hailey
Questions about the name Hailey
What does Hailey mean?
Hailey means “hay clearing (surname)” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Hailey?
Hailey was the 104th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 2,556 babies. Its best year was 2010, when it ranked 19th; the most babies were born in 2003 (8,798). Over the last ten years it has moved down 40 places. More babies were named Hailey in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Hailey a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Hailey in the US.
Where is Hailey most popular?
In 2021–2025, Hailey was most common in Hawaii (4.80 per 1,000 girls), followed by Delaware and Connecticut.