Hatley
A feminine name of English origin referring to a meadow clearing.
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Hatley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hatley today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hatley births was 2013 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hatley. 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.
People living today
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
2013
11 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,434
Tracked since 2010
Census
Hatley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 156 people with the first name Hatley, which placed it at #44,397 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
#44,397
National first-name rank
People counted
156
156 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hatley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hatley is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Black (3.8%). 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 Hatley 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 Hatley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 136
- Two or more races5.8% · 9
- Black or African American3.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Hatley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hatley from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hatley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hatley 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 Hatley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hatley
The name Hatley is an English given name derived from the Old English words "hæt" meaning "hat" and "leah" meaning "clearing" or "meadow." It is thought to have originated as a place name referring to a specific location or settlement, likely a clearing or meadow where hats were made or sold.
The earliest known recorded use of the name Hatley dates back to the 12th century, appearing in the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as a place name, indicating the existence of a settlement or area called Hatley at that time.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Hatley remained primarily associated with various locations in England, particularly in the counties of Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. It was not uncommon for people to adopt place names as surnames or given names during this period, reflecting their connection to a specific locality.
One of the earliest documented individuals bearing the name Hatley was Sir John Hatley, a prominent English landowner and member of Parliament who lived in the 14th century. He is recorded as representing the county of Bedfordshire in the Parliament of 1327 and 1328.
In the 16th century, the name Hatley gained some prominence with the birth of Sir Christopher Hatley (1510-1591), an English diplomat and politician who served as the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under Queen Elizabeth I. He played a significant role in the English Reformation and was known for his legal expertise.
Another notable figure was Thomas Hatley (1588-1658), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1642 to 1644. He was a staunch Royalist during the English Civil War and was arrested and imprisoned by Parliamentarian forces in 1648.
In the 18th century, Hatley Wintour (1701-1766) was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament. He served as the Governor of Cape Coast Castle, a British fortification on the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), from 1751 to 1754.
One of the more recent historical figures bearing the name Hatley was John Hatley (1848-1915), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.
While the name Hatley has ancient roots and a rich history, it has become relatively uncommon in modern times, particularly as a given name. However, its unique origins and connection to specific locations in England make it a fascinating name with deep historical significance.
People
Hatley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hatley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hatley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hatley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hatley 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Hatley a common name?
We classify Hatley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 125 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hatley most popular?
The single biggest year for Hatley was 2013, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hatley is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hatley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 156 people with the name Hatley, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,397 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 Hatley 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 Hatley?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hatley on both sides of the split. Of the 159 people counted with this name, 44 were male (27.7%) and 115 were female (72.3%). 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 Hatley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hatley is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Black (3.8%). 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 Hatley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hatley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (136 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 Hatley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hatley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hatley 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 Hatley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hatley 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 Hatley 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 many people have the name Hatley?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Hatley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.