Girls' name · peaked in 1996
Hayley name popularity since 1925
51,449 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Hayley. Half of them were born in 1998 or earlier, so the typical Hayley is about 28 years old in 2026. Hayley peaked in 1996 as the #120 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 51,449
- Named Hayley, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,251 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% girls
- 51,403 girls · 46 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 1.86× its national share
Peak year is the year Hayley 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.
Hayley births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1993. Measured as a share of all babies, Hayley peaked in 1996.
- Fastest rise: Between 1988 and 1993, Hayley became 3.2× more common, from 1 in 2,220 baby girls to 1 in 691.
- Steepest fall: Between 2020 and 2025, its share of baby girls fell by 57%, from 1 in 3,820 to 1 in 8,980.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Hayley's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Hayley.
Decade by decade
Babies named Hayley 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 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 634 | 0 | #1,280 |
| 1970s | 1,304 | 0 | #1,180 |
| 1980s | 6,109 | 6 | #357 |
| 1990s | 21,859 | 22 | #135 |
| 2000s | 13,949 | 18 | #265 |
| 2010s | 5,701 | 0 | #548 |
| 2020–25 | 1,847 | 0 | #1,251 |
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
44.3% of babies named Hayley from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Hayley is most popular
The index compares Hayley'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 Hayley.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1.86× | 329 |
| Oregon | 1.56× | 728 |
| Utah | 1.54× | 651 |
| Washington | 1.45× | 1,208 |
| Kansas | 1.33× | 673 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Hayley 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hayley (this page) | 51,403 | 1996 |
| Hailey | 181,434 | 2003 |
| Haylee | 30,213 | 2009 |
| Haylie | 10,232 | 2007 |
| Hayli | 1,838 | 2000 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Hayley's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Hayley.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Hayley (1996).
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