Hayley
A Celtic name meaning "hay meadow", it came into Poland by way of English. Barely a foothold here: only 33 women carry it, so most Poles have never met one.
Hayley Pronunciation
Hayley is pronounced khah-ih-LE-ih (/xaɨˈlɛɨ/).
What Hayley means
Where Hayley comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Hayley began as a place before it belonged to a person. The name marks a hay meadow, a hay clearing, ground where mown grass was left in the open to dry. Its oldest roots reach into Celtic-speaking Britain, and that plain meaning stayed put.
For a long time Hayley was a surname and a spot on the map, not yet a given name. That changed in the twentieth century. Hayley Mills, the British actress born in 1946, brought it to a wide audience as a Disney star, beginning with Pollyanna in 1960. The name climbed in popularity in the years after those films.
Hayley has no established diminutives or variant partners of its own. It stands alone. What it says stays literal: a hay meadow, a clearing where hay was gathered.
How many people are named Hayley
1 in 683146 women in Poland is named Hayley. 33 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #6981 among female names.
Hayley's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Hayley as a middle name
Hayley is a first name for 33 women in Poland and a middle name for another 14, a 70/30 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1995th, between Hatice (14) and Hương (14).
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#1993 Gosława14
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#1994 Hatice14
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#1995 Hayley14
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#1996 Hương14
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#1997 Iona14