Bailei
A variant of Bailey, potentially derived from an Old English place name.
Name Census estimates that about 277 living Americans carry the first name Bailei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bailei today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bailei births was 2018 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bailei. 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
277
~ 1 in 1,237,380 Americans
Peak year
2018
24 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,223
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Bailei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bailei from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 132 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bailei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bailei 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 Bailei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Baileis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bailei
The name Bailei is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots traced back to the 9th century AD. It is derived from the combination of two words, "bael" meaning "fire" and "leia" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who lived in or near a clearing created by a fire in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bailei can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record dating back to the late 9th century. It mentions a person named Bailei who was a prominent landowner in the Kingdom of Wessex during the reign of King Alfred the Great.
In the 11th century, a Benedictine monk named Bailei was known for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He is believed to have lived in the monastery of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England.
During the Middle Ages, the name Bailei was also found in various historical records and documents from different parts of Europe. In the 13th century, a knight named Bailei de Montfort fought in the Crusades and is mentioned in several accounts of the time.
In the 15th century, a renowned Italian artist and sculptor named Bailei Rossellino gained fame for his work on the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. His intricate carvings and sculptures adorned several churches and monuments across Italy.
Another notable figure with the name Bailei was a 17th-century French explorer and cartographer named Bailei de la Jonquière. He was known for his expeditions and mapping of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Canadian Maritime regions, which contributed significantly to the exploration and colonization of North America.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Bailei throughout history, showcasing its long-standing presence and significance across various cultures and time periods.
People
Bailei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bailei 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
Bailei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bailei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 277 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bailei 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 1,237,380 US residents.
Is Bailei a common name?
We classify Bailei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bailei most popular?
The single biggest year for Bailei was 2018, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bailei is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bailei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bailei 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.
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.