Given name & surname
Halley
“from the hall near the meadow”
Halley is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the hall near the meadow.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the hall near the meadow.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Irish Ó hAilche (“descendant of Ailche”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1910. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Halley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,238
- 126 boys · 4,112 girls
- Most popular year
- 1986
- 355 babies
- 2025
- 43
- #3,537 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +24%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 43 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,537 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 24.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 333 in 1986. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,864 as a first name in 2020; 4,495 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Halley’s family of names
Halley has a related form in Hallie. Halley has a related form in Hallie. Halley has a related form in Halli.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Halley has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Englishwhere Halley comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hallievariant
- Haleyvariant · English
- Halleevariant
- Hallyvariant
- Hallivariant
- Halleighvariant
- Halletvariant · French
- Halleyelikely variant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Halley
- Halley FeifferAmerican actressborn 1984
- Halley GrossAmerican actress, screenwriter and voice actorborn 1985
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Halley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Whitley
“from the white meadow”
15% boys · 85% girls
Carley
“from the farmer's meadow”
>99% girls
Afton
“from the Afton river”
16% boys · 84% girls
Holly
“of the holly tree”
>99% girls
Shelley
“from the bank's meadow” · “from the meadow's ledge”
>99% girls
Raven
Raven is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling the black bird; a dark and mysterious beauty” (English) and “resembling the blackbird; a dark and mysterious man” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
5% boys · 95% girls
Gardenia
“resembling the sweetsmelling flower”
>99% girls
Star
“a celestial body” · “a celestial body; as bright as a star”
4% boys · 96% girls