Heiley
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly meaning "life" or "strength".
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the first name Heiley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Heiley today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heiley births was 2010 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heiley. 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
123
~ 1 in 2,786,621 Americans
Peak year
2010
16 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,539
Tracked since 2002
Census
Heiley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 147 people with the first name Heiley, which placed it at #45,869 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
#45,869
National first-name rank
People counted
147
147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
61.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heiley is Hispanic at 61.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.6%). 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 Heiley 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 Heiley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino61.9% · 91
- White19.0% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.6% · 20
- Black or African American2.7% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Heiley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heiley from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 56 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Heiley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heiley 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 Heiley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heileys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Heiley
Heiley is a name with roots that can be traced back to the ancient Germanic tribes of Europe. It is believed to have originated from the Old High German word "haili," meaning "hale" or "healthy." This linguistic connection suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals in hopes of bestowing good health and vigor.
In the early medieval period, variations of the name, such as "Heiley" and "Haili," were commonly found in regions inhabited by Germanic peoples, including present-day Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. The name's popularity may have been influenced by its association with the concept of wellness, which held great significance in these communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Heiley can be found in the Codex Sangallensis, a 9th-century Latin manuscript from the Abbey of St. Gall in modern-day Switzerland. This document contains a list of baptismal names, including "Heiley," providing evidence of its usage during that era.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Heiley. One such figure was Heiley of Konstanz, a 12th-century Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the Monastery of Essen in present-day Germany. Her writings on spiritual matters were widely circulated and influential during her lifetime (c. 1140 - 1210).
Another prominent figure was Heiley von Trier, a 14th-century German noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works in the city of Trier. She established several hospitals and orphanages, leaving a lasting legacy in the region (c. 1310 - 1385).
In the realm of literature, Heiley von Würzburg was a 15th-century German poet and author who gained recognition for her lyrical compositions and religious texts. Her works were widely circulated and appreciated during the Renaissance period (c. 1420 - 1498).
During the Renaissance, the name Heiley also found its way into the arts. Heiley von Nürnberg was a 16th-century German painter and engraver who was celebrated for her intricate woodcut illustrations and portraits (c. 1510 - 1578).
In more recent times, Heiley von Aurich was a 19th-century German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in her native region of East Frisia (c. 1820 - 1892).
While the name Heiley may not be as common today as it once was, its historical roots and associations with health, wellness, and notable individuals continue to imbue it with a sense of cultural significance and enduring legacy.
People
Heiley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heiley 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
Heiley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heiley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heiley 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 2,786,621 US residents.
Is Heiley a common name?
We classify Heiley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 124 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heiley most popular?
The single biggest year for Heiley was 2010, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heiley is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Heiley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 147 people with the name Heiley, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,869 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 Heiley 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 Heiley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Heiley leans strongly female. 149 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Heiley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Heiley is Hispanic at 61.9%. The next largest groups are White (19.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.6%). 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 Heiley most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Heiley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (91 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 Heiley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Heiley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Heiley 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 Heiley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Heiley 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 Heiley 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 Americans are named Heiley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.