Given name & surname
Hayley
“from the field of hay”
Hayley has an alternative spelling in Haley. One English interpretation is “from the field of hay.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Hayley has an alternative spelling in Haley. One English interpretation is “from the field of hay.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Old English, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Hayley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 51,449
- 46 boys · 51,403 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 2,624 babies
- 2025
- 179
- #1,251 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −38%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 179 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,251 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 37.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,618 in 1993. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (22). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 47,063 as a first name in 2020; 626 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.
Hayley’s family of names
Hayley has an alternative spelling in Haley. Hayley has a related form in Haley. Hayley has a related form in Haley.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hayley
- Hayley WilliamsAmerican singerborn 1988
- Hayley AtwellEnglish and American actress (born 1982)
- Hayley KiyokoAmerican actress and singer (born 1991)
- Hayley WestenraNew Zealand singerborn 1987
- Hayley MillsBritish actress (born 1946)
- Hayley WickenheiserCanadian ice hockey and softball playerborn 1978
- Hayley McFarlandAmerican actressborn 1991
- Hayley ArceneauxAmerican private astronautborn 1991
- Hayley RasoAustralian soccer playerborn 1994
Characters named Hayley: Hayley Smith (the animated series American Dad!).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Hayley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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