Hailey

What does Hailey mean?

Hailey means “hay clearing,” through the English surname and place-name family behind Hayley. Its Old English elements are heg, “hay,” and leah, “clearing.” Hailey gives that older landscape name a modern spelling while keeping the usual two-syllable sound, HAY-lee.

Hayley, Haley, Hailee, Haylee, and Haleigh are related spellings. The Hayley form became especially familiar through British child actor Hayley Mills. In the United States, Hailey developed its own strong following and became the leading spelling within this group during the early twenty-first century.

Hailey Baptiste and tennis

American tennis player Hailey Baptiste gives the spelling a prominent sporting connection. In July 2019, she made her WTA main-draw debut at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., her hometown tournament. At seventeen, she defeated second seed Madison Keys in the opening round.

The match ended 7–6, 6–2 after 93 minutes. Baptiste recovered from a late break in the opening set, won the tiebreak, and then took firmer control in the second. She saved six of the seven break points she faced.

The setting made the result particularly personal. Baptiste had trained at the tournament site as a child and had been coming to the event since she was five. Her first victory at that level happened in front of a crowd that included people who had known her for years, making it a distinctive early milestone in her career.

Hailey in Disney animation

Disney's Hailey's On It! puts the name directly in the title of an animated comedy-adventure series. It premiered in June 2023, with Auli'i Cravalho voicing Hailey, a cautious but inventive teenager who learns that completing her long list of tasks is necessary to save the world.

The premise turns ordinary challenges into part of a much larger mission. Hailey works alongside her friend Scott and Beta, an artificial intelligence from the future. The tasks can be awkward or impractical, so the story depends on her willingness to act despite her hesitation.

This fictional Hailey gives the spelling an association with a teenage heroine whose name is repeated in the title and throughout her adventures. The combination of school-age concerns and a future-changing mission brings the name into a different setting from Baptiste's real sporting career.

Pronunciation and related spellings

Hailey is pronounced HAY-lee, with stress on the first syllable. Haley and Hayley have the same usual English pronunciation, while Hailee writes the ending with a double e. Each keeps the same opening stress and light final syllable.

Hailey in the United States

Hailey's highest American girls' count was 8,798 in 2003. Its best rank came in 2010, at No. 19. It ranked No. 104 in 2025, compared with No. 64 in 2015. Its largest American newborn generation belongs to the early 2000s.

How popular is Hailey?

In 2025, Hailey ranked #104 among girls in the United States, with 2,556 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1963; its largest annual count was 8,798 in 2003. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.