Bailey

Bailey: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“bailiff; outer castle wall”
Origin
English
Say it
BAY-lee · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (84% of all uses)

From an English surname with occupational and topographic origins: bailiff, or bailey meaning the outer wall or courtyard of a castle. As a given name it comes from surname use.

How popular is Bailey?

2024540 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Bailey in 20241,799

2024 rank#182 girls

Peak year1998

Total US babies since 1880130,947

Bailey is fading: recent use is about 58% of its level ten years before.

Names like Bailey

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Baileebailiff · English
  • Bayleebailiff; berry clearing · English
  • Oliviaolive tree · English
  • Evelyndesired; little bird · English
  • Harperharp player · English
  • Averyruler of elves · English
  • Violetviolet flower · English
  • Hazelhazel tree · English

Bailey questions

What does the name Bailey mean?

Bailey means "bailiff; outer castle wall". It comes from English. From an English surname with occupational and topographic origins: bailiff, or bailey meaning the outer wall or courtyard of a castle. As a given name it comes from surname use.

Is Bailey a boy or girl name?

Bailey is mainly a girl's name in US records (84% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Bailey?

1,799 US babies were named Bailey in 2024. Its peak year was 1998.

How do you pronounce Bailey?

Bailey is usually pronounced BAY-lee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.