Hadley
Hadley is a both a surname and a given name that is a transferred use of a place name of English origin that means “heather field.” The name has increased in popularity in recent years for girls in the United States and has ranked among the top 200 names used for American girls since 2011. Spelling variants such as Hadlee and Hadleigh are also in wide use.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Hadley
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Hadley is a both a surname and a given name that is a transferred use of a place name of English origin that means “heather field.” The name has increased in popularity in recent years for girls in the United States and has ranked among the top 200 names used for American girls since 2011. Spelling variants such as Hadlee and Hadleigh are also in wide use.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Hadley
American parents first put Hadley on the record books as a baby girl name in 1964, with 7 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2014, when 3,015 Hadleys were born — ranking #100 that year. About 52% of every Hadley on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Hadley ranks #113 for baby girls with 2,358 births, gradually falling (-8%). All told, over 49K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1960s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Hadley
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Hadley. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Hadley
Phonetically similar names — useful when Hadley is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hadley
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About the name Hadley
Hadley is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1964 and has accumulated 49K births in the dataset. Hadley's peak popularity came in 2014 when it ranked #100. Use the chart and map above to compare Hadley's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2014 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "H" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.