Mostly girls · peaked in 1998
Bailey name popularity since 1925
131,726 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Bailey (84.1% girls, 15.9% boys). Half of them were born in 2003 or earlier, so the typical Bailey is about 23 years old in 2026. Bailey peaked in 1998 as the #60 name for girls, and it ranked #209 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 131,726
- Named Bailey, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #209
- for girls in 2025 (1,446 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 84.1% girls
- 110,800 girls · 20,926 boys
- Most popular in
- Idaho
- 2.14× its national share
Peak year is the year Bailey made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Bailey births per year, 1925–2025
1998 was the biggest year for Bailey both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1983 and 1988, Bailey became 5.8× more common, from 1 in 11,000 baby girls to 1 in 1,890.
- Steepest fall: Between 2000 and 2005, its share of baby girls fell by 37%, from 1 in 391 to 1 in 618.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Bailey's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Bailey.
Decade by decade
Babies named Bailey in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 6 | 178 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 367 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 301 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 5 | 287 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 0 | 197 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 28 | 169 | #9,196 |
| 1980s | 4,082 | 477 | #612 |
| 1990s | 31,621 | 9,926 | #96 |
| 2000s | 36,881 | 6,892 | #108 |
| 2010s | 28,302 | 1,357 | #107 |
| 2020–25 | 9,875 | 775 | #209 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
58.0% of babies named Bailey from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Bailey is most popular
The index compares Bailey's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Bailey.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 2.14× | 1,098 |
| Utah | 2.11× | 2,321 |
| Wyoming | 2.02× | 353 |
| Nevada | 2.00× | 923 |
| Oregon | 1.70× | 2,061 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Bailey and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Bailey (this page) | 110,800 | 1998 |
| Bailee | 16,240 | 1997 |
| Bayley | 2,221 | 1997 |
| Bailie | 1,654 | 1997 |
| Baily | 1,407 | 1997 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Bailey's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Bailey.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Bailey (1998).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data