How rare is the name Halley?

3,864 people in the United States have the first name Halley, about 1 in 78,166. It ranks #4,705 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

HALLEY

#4,705

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
3,864
About
1 in 78,166
This common or more
84.4%
Who bears it

Of the 3,864 people named Halley, 79% reported their origin as White, 9.6% as Hispanic or Latino and 4.9% as two or more races. 95.7% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Halley peaked in 1986, when 355 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19102025
Peak year
1986
Births that year
355
In 2025*
43 ▼88%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 4,238 babies have been given the name since 1910. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Halley by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1990s, when it ranked #2,246. The largest share of babies named Halley, 40.2%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1910s#5,58755
1920s#9,90622
1930s#9,18817
1940s#9,04222
1950s#12,03613
1960s#9,32846
1970s#7,198126
1980s#2,515789
1990s#2,2461,314
2000s#3,0931,110
2010s#6,061450
2020s#5,974274
Greatest Generation 1901–271.8%
Silent Generation 1928–450.7%
Baby boom 1946–640.9%
Generation X 1965–804.1%
Millennials 1981–9639.1%
Generation Z 1997–1240.2%
2013 and later13.3%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Halley is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Halley has been most common in Florida (2.4×), Ohio (2.1×), and Texas (2.1×), and least common in Pennsylvania (0.42×).

1,751 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Halley

1 other first name also has 3,864 people.

#4,705 Harpreet · 3,864

Either side of Halley

#4,703 Elzbieta · 3,866#4,703 Nyasia · 3,866#4,705 Harpreet · 3,864#4,707 Franz · 3,863

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Halley, most common first.

#376 Hailey · 147,731#388 Haley · 144,722#946 Hayley · 47,063#2,017 Halle · 13,596#11,071 Hallee · 1,175#14,020 Hally · 848#22,003 Hailley · 456#22,040 Haliey · 455

Also a last name

As a last name, Halley ranks #7,171 of 156,621, with 4,495 people. See Halley as a last name

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