Baily
A masculine name of English origin meaning a bailiff or steward.
Name Census estimates that about 1,778 living Americans carry the first name Baily. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Baily today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Baily births was 1997 (149 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Baily. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Baily with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,775 Americans
Peak year
1997
149 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2008 SSA rank
#7,625
Tracked since 1984
Census
Baily in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,139 people with the first name Baily, which placed it at #7,207 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
#7,207
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,139 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baily
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baily is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Baily 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 Baily at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 1,756
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 191
- Two or more races3.6% · 78
- Black or African American3.5% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Baily
Baily is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,816 total registrations, 417 (23.0%) were male and 1,399 (77.0%) were female.
Baily as a male name
- Ranked #9,969 in 2008
- 7 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1999 (58 births)
Baily as a female name
- Ranked #7,625 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (94 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Baily on both sides of the split. Of the 2,146 people counted with this name, 522 were male (24.3%) and 1,624 were female (75.7%).
Popularity
Baily: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Baily from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 772 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Baily 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 Baily during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bailys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Baily, while Washington, Nebraska, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Baily
The name Baily is an English given name derived from the Old French word "baillie," which means "steward" or "administrator." It originated as an occupational surname during the Middle Ages, referring to a person who served as a bailiff or a local administrator responsible for managing estates or enforcing laws.
In its earliest recorded usage, the name Baily appeared in various medieval documents and records, such as the Domesday Book, a great survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name was particularly prevalent in areas of Norman influence, such as England and parts of France.
While the name Baily does not have any direct associations with ancient texts or religious scriptures, it does have historical references related to its administrative and legal connotations. For instance, the term "bailiff" appears in the Magna Carta, the famous charter signed in 1215 that established certain rights and liberties in England.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Baily was Sir Walter Baily, an English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer who lived in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Thomas Baily (1557-1637), an English clergyman and author who served as the Bishop of Bangor and authored several religious works.
In the 18th century, Francis Baily (1774-1844) was a renowned English astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of comets and the calculation of stellar positions. He served as the president of the Royal Astronomical Society and had a lunar crater named in his honor.
During the 19th century, Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867) was a celebrated English sculptor known for his neoclassical works, including the prestigious Nelson Monument in London's Trafalgar Square. He was elected as a Royal Academician and received numerous commissions from the British nobility.
Another notable figure was Theodor Baily (1831-1918), a German-American engineer and inventor who played a crucial role in the development of early machine tools and manufacturing processes. He held numerous patents and was recognized for his contributions to the industrialization of the United States.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the given name Baily, showcasing its historical significance and diverse applications across various fields and professions.
People
Baily + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Baily 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
Baily: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Baily?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,778 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Baily 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 192,775 US residents.
Is Baily a common name?
We classify Baily as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,816 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Baily most popular?
The single biggest year for Baily was 1997, when 149 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Baily is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Baily in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,139 people with the name Baily, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,207 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 Baily 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 Baily?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Baily on both sides of the split. Of the 2,146 people counted with this name, 522 were male (24.3%) and 1,624 were female (75.7%). 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 Baily?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baily is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Baily most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Baily in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (1,756 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 Baily in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Baily a female name?
Yes, 77.0% of people registered as Baily 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 Baily still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Baily 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 Baily 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 Baily as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Baily on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.