Hadley
From the Old English word "haeðfeld" meaning "heather field".
Name Census estimates that about 45,440 living Americans carry the first name Hadley. It sits at #114 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (95.5% of registrations). The average person named Hadley today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hadley births was 2014 (3,060 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hadley. 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 Hadley with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Hadley started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Although Hadley is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 2,084 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Hadley is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
45K
~ 1 in 7,543 Americans
Peak year
2014
3,060 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#114
Tracked since 1906
Census
Hadley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 32,204 people with the first name Hadley, which placed it at #1,207 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
#1,207
National first-name rank
People counted
32K
32,204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
10.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hadley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hadley is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Hadley 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 Hadley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 29,398
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,244
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,026
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 205
- Black or African American0.6% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 144
Gender
Gender distribution for Hadley
Hadley leans heavily female at 95.5% of total registrations, but 2,084 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hadley as a male name
- Ranked #4,744 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (52 births)
Hadley as a female name
- Ranked #114 in 2024
- 2,380 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (3,015 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hadley leans strongly female. 30,849 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 1,351 male bearers (4.2%).
Popularity
Hadley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hadley from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 25,867 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hadley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hadley 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 Hadley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hadleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Indiana recorded the most babies named Hadley, while Hawaii, District of Columbia, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 841 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hadley
The name Hadley is an English given name with origins dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from the Old English words "hæþ" meaning "heather" and "leah" meaning "clearing" or "meadow." Together, these words form the meaning "heather clearing" or "heather meadow," suggesting a connection to the English countryside and natural landscapes.
While the exact origin of the name is unclear, it is believed to be a locational surname that later transitioned into a given name. Historically, locational surnames were often derived from the names of towns, villages, or geographic features where people lived or came from. In this case, Hadley likely referred to various places in England bearing the same name, such as Hadley in Shropshire or Hadley in Worcestershire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hadley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. However, it is unclear whether this refers to a person or a place.
Throughout history, the name Hadley has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest examples is John Hadley (1682-1744), an English mathematician and inventor who created the Hadley's quadrant, an important navigational instrument used in maritime navigation.
Another prominent figure was Stephen Hadley (1750-1822), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 6th Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1804 to 1810. Additionally, John Hadley (1731-1764) was an English composer and organist known for his compositions for the Anglican Church.
In the literary world, Anne Hadley (1630-1685) was an English Quaker writer and preacher who published several religious works during the 17th century. Furthermore, John Hadley (1907-1987) was an American historian and author who specialized in the American Revolutionary War and the early years of the United States.
While the name Hadley has been more commonly used as a surname throughout history, its use as a given name, particularly for males, has endured over the centuries. The name's connection to the English countryside and its longstanding presence in historical records have contributed to its enduring popularity.
People
Hadley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hadley 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
Hadley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hadley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45,440 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hadley 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 7,543 US residents.
Is Hadley a common name?
We classify Hadley as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 46,412 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hadley most popular?
The single biggest year for Hadley was 2014, when 3,060 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hadley is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hadley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 32,204 people with the name Hadley, or 10.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,207 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 Hadley 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 Hadley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hadley leans strongly female. 30,849 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 1,351 male bearers (4.2%). 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 Hadley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hadley is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Hadley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hadley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (29,398 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 Hadley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hadley a female name?
Yes, 95.5% of people registered as Hadley 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 Hadley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hadley 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 Hadley 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 Hadley as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Hadley, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.