Hadley
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Meaning
place name/surname, "heather field"
The story
Hadley is an English place name, traditionally the heather field, and like most place names it spent centuries as a surname before anyone thought of it as a first name. The American association is literary: Hadley Richardson was Ernest Hemingway's first wife, the one who was there for Paris and who lost a suitcase containing most of his early manuscripts. Our records show the name is now almost entirely given to girls, about 46,600 to 2,100. Its climb is one of the steepest in this batch: 467 babies in the 1980s, 1,393 in the 1990s, 5,322 in the 2000s, and nearly 25,900 in the 2010s. That is a fiftyfold increase across thirty years for a name that had never once been common in US records.
How popular is Hadley around the world?
In the United States, 14,539 babies were named Hadley between 2020 and 2025.
Hadley is on the official records of the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Australia, England and Wales, Scotland and Brazil.
United States
1 in 1,500
In the United States, 14,539 babies were named Hadley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Hadley peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 3,100
In Canada, 119 girls named Hadley were born in 2024, the 240th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 4,800
In New Zealand, 12 boys named Hadley were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Hadley in 2017.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 6,400
In England and Wales, 56 boys named Hadley were born in 2025, the 650th most common name among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 35 girls named Hadley were born in 2025, the 983rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 girls named Hadley were registered in 2024, the 790th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 63 people in Brazil were named Hadley, ranked 56,841st, with a median age of 25.
Among people named Hadley living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2020
Hadley is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Hadley
Most people given the name Hadley in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Hadley · Names that go with Hadley · Middle names for Hadley
The Hadley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Hadley truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Hadley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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