Hayley

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Localities in England, from Old English hēg (“hay”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to hay +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈheɪli/
  • Rhymes: -eɪli

Proper noun

Hayley

  1. An English placename.
  2. A habitational surname from Old English. (More often spelled Haley.)
  3. A unisex given name transferred from the surname
    1. A male given name transferred from the surname; rare compared to the female name.
    2. A female given name transferred from the surname. Popular in the UK in the 1970s and the 1980s.

Usage notes
  • The female name is usually spelled Haley or Hailey in the U.S., and it became popular later than in the UK.

Quotations
  • 2000, Maureen Lipman, Lip Reading, Franz Steiner Verlag, →ISBN, page 12:
    Just think of the explanation required one day for all those Kylies and Stings and Hayleys, for heaven's sake! ' Well, it doesn't mean anything, darling - it's from Hayley Mills. Well, she's an actress and her mother named her after her own maiden name. No, she was a writer, actually...Oh, shut up and be thankful I didn't call you Sigourney like your father wanted...'
  • 2007, Crissy Pagdett, Kelly's Destiny: Closest Betrayal, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 98:
    I closed my eyes and listened to him saying the names.
    "That is the one...Hayley Dawn Calvin. That is gorgeous and it fits perfect."
    "I like it too, it sounds good."

References
  • Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges : A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press 1988.
  • Social Security Administration: given name statistics in the USA
  • FreeBMD : given name statistics in England and Wales

Further reading
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