NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Hali

Derived from the Hebrew name Halil, meaning "praise" or "hymn".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Hali is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Hali popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1819, with 16 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2023, with 20 births.

This profile covers 142 England and Wales registrations across 20 recorded years from 2001 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 80% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 165 living people in the UK are called Hali. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Hali ranked #1819 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 16 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2023, when 20 girls were registered as Hali.
  • Hali ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #391 in 2023.
  • About 165 living people in the UK are estimated to have Hali as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#1819

2024

Births in 2024

16

Latest year

Peak year

2023

20 births

Estimated living

165

2026

Meaning

What does Hali mean?

The name Hali finds its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was spoken in ancient India. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "hali," meaning "a plow." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with agricultural or rural communities in the Indian subcontinent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hali can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Hali is mentioned as the name of a character. However, the exact time period in which this epic was composed remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from the 8th century BCE to the 4th century CE.

During the medieval period, the name Hali appears to have been relatively uncommon. However, it gained some popularity in the 16th century, particularly in the Indian region of Punjab. One notable figure from this period was Hali Mian, a Sufi saint and poet who lived in the 16th century and whose real name was Syed Hussain Shah.

In the 19th century, the name Hali reemerged in prominence due to the influential Urdu poet, Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali (1837-1914). He was a pioneering figure in the literary movement of that era and is often referred to as the "Shair-e-Musha'ir" or "The Poet of Poets."

Another noteworthy individual with the name Hali was Mirza Hali (1828-1909), an Indian writer and poet who was a contemporary of Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant Urdu poets of the 19th century.

In more recent times, the name Hali has been associated with several prominent individuals, including Hali Muvaffaq (1822-1884), an Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1878.

It is worth noting that while the name Hali has its roots in ancient Indian culture, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and communities across the world, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Hali over time

The chart below shows babies named Hali registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2001 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Hali, the clearest high point is 2023. The latest England and Wales figure is 16 births in 2024, compared with 20 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Hali
05101520200120122024

Decades

Hali by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Hali was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #2022 71 5
2010s #4621 49 10
2000s #3901 22 5

Geography

Where Hali is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Hali. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Hali ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #391 in 2023.

Scotland
4
Northern Ireland
3

Across the UK

Hali in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#638 in 2024

5 years of NRS records, 21 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#391 in 2023

1 years of NISRA records, 3 total registered

Related

Names similar to Hali

FAQ

Hali: questions and answers

How popular is the name Hali in the UK right now?

In 2024, Hali was ranked #1819 for girls in England and Wales, with 16 births registered.

When was Hali most popular?

The peak year on record was 2023, with 20 babies registered as Hali in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Hali?

Derived from the Hebrew name Halil, meaning "praise" or "hymn".

How many people are called Hali in the UK?

A total of 142 babies have been registered as Hali across the 20 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 21 more in Scotland and 3 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Hali most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Hali ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #391 in 2023. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.