UK girl's name
Halley
A feminine name of probable Old English origin meaning "from the nook of land".
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.
Halley is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Halley popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2574, with 10 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2020, with 18 births.
This profile covers 90 England and Wales registrations across 9 recorded years from 2009 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, 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 56% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 93 living people in the UK are called Halley. 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
- • Halley ranked #2574 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 10 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2020, when 18 girls were registered as Halley.
- • Halley ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #765 in 2019.
- • About 93 living people in the UK are estimated to have Halley as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2574
2024
Births in 2024
10
Latest year
Peak year
2020
18 births
Estimated living
93
2026
Meaning
What does Halley mean?
The name Halley has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "hæleþ," which means "hero" or "warrior." This name was commonly used in Anglo-Saxon England during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Halley can be found in the Domesday Book, a historical record commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Hallei," referring to a landowner in the county of Norfolk, England.
In the 12th century, the name Halley gained prominence with the birth of Halley of Brittany (c. 1109 – c. 1165), a Breton cleric and historian who wrote the "Chronicon Britannicum," a chronicle of British history.
During the Renaissance period, the name Halley was associated with the renowned English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656 – 1742). He is best known for calculating the orbit of the comet that now bears his name, Halley's Comet, which is visible from Earth every 75-76 years.
Another notable individual with the name Halley was Sir Henry Halley (1828 – 1904), a British civil servant who served as the Chief Clerk of the Admiralty and was knighted for his services to the British government.
In the 20th century, Halley Foulkes (1898 – 1981) was a Welsh author and poet who published several collections of poetry and prose, including "The Greenfields" and "The Dower House."
It is worth mentioning that while the name Halley has its origins in Old English, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages, with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Halley over time
The chart below shows babies named Halley registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2009 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 Halley, the clearest high point is 2020. The latest England and Wales figure is 10 births in 2024, compared with 18 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Halley by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Halley 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 | #2203 | 64 | 5 |
| 2010s | #3000 | 23 | 3 |
| 2000s | #5556 | 3 | 1 |
Geography
Where Halley is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Halley. 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.
Halley ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #765 in 2019.
Across the UK
Halley in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#765 in 2019
1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Halley
-
Halley Stewart
politician
British politician (1838-1937)
1838-1937
Related
Names similar to Halley
- Hannah 67,635
- Holly 52,307
- Harriet 24,781
- Hollie 17,902
- Harper 15,784
- Heidi 12,675
- Hallie 9,873
- Hope 9,414
- Hayley 5,968
- Hazel 5,954
- Hanna 5,735
- Heather 5,497
FAQ
Halley: questions and answers
How popular is the name Halley in the UK right now?
In 2024, Halley was ranked #2574 for girls in England and Wales, with 10 births registered.
When was Halley most popular?
The peak year on record was 2020, with 18 babies registered as Halley in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Halley?
A feminine name of probable Old English origin meaning "from the nook of land".
How many people are called Halley in the UK?
A total of 90 babies have been registered as Halley across the 9 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.
Where is Halley most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Halley ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #765 in 2019. 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.