Bayleigh
A feminine name derived from Old English words meaning "meadow" and "woodland clearing".
Name Census estimates that about 5,047 living Americans carry the first name Bayleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bayleigh today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bayleigh births was 2012 (272 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bayleigh. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bayleigh with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Bayleigh is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.0K
~ 1 in 67,912 Americans
Peak year
2012
272 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,149
Tracked since 1989
Census
Bayleigh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,832 people with the first name Bayleigh, which placed it at #4,743 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,743
National first-name rank
People counted
3.8K
3,832 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bayleigh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bayleigh is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bayleigh described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bayleigh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 3,030
- Black or African American8.6% · 331
- Two or more races5.9% · 227
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 197
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 9
Popularity
Bayleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bayleigh from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,239 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bayleigh by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bayleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bayleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 33 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Ohio recorded the most babies named Bayleigh, while Utah, Massachusetts, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 106 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bayleigh
The name Bayleigh is an English name that originated in the late 20th century. It is a combination of the names Bailey and Leigh, both of which have their roots in Old English.
Bailey is derived from the Old English word "bæli," which means "berry clearing" or "berry meadow." It was originally a surname that referred to someone who lived near a berry patch or a meadow where berries grew. The name Leigh, on the other hand, comes from the Old English word "leah," which means "clearing" or "meadow."
While the name Bayleigh is relatively new, its components have a long history. The name Bailey can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name Leigh also appears in various historical records, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which dates back to the 9th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bayleigh is in the late 20th century, when it began to gain popularity as a given name for girls in the United States and other English-speaking countries. However, there are no notable historical figures specifically named Bayleigh, as it is a relatively modern name.
Nevertheless, there are several famous individuals who have borne the names Bailey and Leigh throughout history. One notable example is Bailey Tzuren (born in 1987), an American actress known for her roles in various television shows and movies. Another is Bailey White (born in 1951), an American writer and author of several books, including "Mama Makes Up Her Mind" and "Quite a Year for Plums."
As for the name Leigh, one prominent figure is Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an English essayist, poet, and critic who was a key figure in the Romantic movement. Another is Leigh Brackett (1915-1978), an American writer and screenwriter who contributed to several science fiction classics, including "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Big Sleep."
Additionally, there is Leigh Ann Woodworth (born in 1948), an American actress best known for her role as Janice in the sitcom "Alice." Lastly, Leigh Whannell (born in 1977) is an Australian actor, writer, and director who co-created the "Saw" franchise and directed films such as "Insidious" and "The Invisible Man."
People
Bayleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bayleigh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bayleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bayleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,047 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bayleigh going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 67,912 US residents.
Is Bayleigh a common name?
We classify Bayleigh as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,111 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bayleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Bayleigh was 2012, when 272 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bayleigh is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bayleigh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,832 people with the name Bayleigh, or 1.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,743 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bayleigh in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bayleigh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bayleigh appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,833 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bayleigh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bayleigh is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (8.6%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bayleigh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bayleigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (3,030 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bayleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bayleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bayleigh in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bayleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bayleigh in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bayleigh can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Bayleigh?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Bayleigh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.