Halley
Torn between Halley and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
surname meaning 'hall meadow'; known from Halley's Comet
How popular is Halley around the world?
In the United States, 274 babies were named Halley between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 6 registrations of Halley in 2022.
Halley is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Montevideo, England and Wales, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 80,000
In the United States, 274 babies were named Halley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Halley peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 20,000
In Mexico City, there were 6 registrations of Halley in 2022.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 boy named Halley was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 girls named Halley were born in 2025, ranked 2,788th 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
Brazil
1 in 250,000
At the 2022 census, 877 people in Brazil were named Halley, ranked 9,056th, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Halley living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 31 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Spain
1 in 390,000
In Spain, 116 residents are named Halley, ranked 6,908th among women, with a mean age of 4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2023
Halley is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Canada
last on record 2018
Halley is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
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)
Scotland
last on record 2019
Halley is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 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
South Australia
last on record 2010
Halley is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand 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 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 Halley
Most people given the name Halley in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Halley you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Halley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Halley 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 Halley fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Halley fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Halley to your family’s tree →