Halleigh
A feminine name derived from the Old English words "hal" and "leah", meaning "dweller in a meadow hall".
Name Census estimates that about 328 living Americans carry the first name Halleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Halleigh today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Halleigh births was 2009 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Halleigh. 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
328
~ 1 in 1,044,983 Americans
Peak year
2009
25 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,422
Tracked since 1995
Census
Halleigh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 272 people with the first name Halleigh, which placed it at #31,478 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
#31,478
National first-name rank
People counted
272
272 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halleigh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Halleigh is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Halleigh 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 Halleigh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 234
- Black or African American4.8% · 13
- Two or more races4.4% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Halleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Halleigh 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 146 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Halleigh 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 Halleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Halleighs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Halleigh
The name Halleigh has its origins in Old English, derived from the combination of two words: "halig" meaning holy, and "leah" referring to a meadow or clearing. This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with a sacred or revered location, perhaps a meadow or glade with religious or spiritual significance.
In the early medieval period, the name Halleigh appeared in various forms, such as Haliglea, Haligleh, and Haliglee, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations. These variations were documented in ancient texts and records from the Anglo-Saxon era, indicating the name's usage during that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Halleigh was a nobleman named Halleigh of Mercia, who lived in the 8th century AD. He was known for his involvement in the construction of a monastery in the kingdom of Mercia, which was a significant religious and cultural center at the time.
Another notable figure was Halleigh the Scribe, a monk who lived in the 10th century AD and was renowned for his exceptional calligraphy skills. He was responsible for transcribing and preserving numerous religious texts and historical documents, ensuring their survival for future generations.
In the 12th century, Halleigh of Wessex gained prominence as a skilled architect and master builder. He was credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several notable churches and abbeys, including the iconic Salisbury Cathedral, which stands as a testament to his architectural prowess.
During the Renaissance period, Halleigh Montague, born in 1487, was a celebrated author and poet. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, earning her recognition and admiration from literary circles across Europe.
In the 18th century, Halleigh Beaumont, a renowned explorer and naturalist, embarked on numerous expeditions to uncharted territories. Her detailed accounts and observations of flora and fauna contributed significantly to the scientific understanding of the natural world during that era.
While the name Halleigh has maintained a certain level of rarity throughout history, its origins and associations with holiness, nature, and intellectual pursuits have endured, making it a unique and meaningful choice for those seeking a name steeped in tradition and cultural significance.
People
Halleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Halleigh 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
Halleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Halleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Halleigh 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 1,044,983 US residents.
Is Halleigh a common name?
We classify Halleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 332 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Halleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Halleigh was 2009, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Halleigh is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Halleigh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 272 people with the name Halleigh, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,478 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 Halleigh 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 Halleigh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Halleigh appears almost entirely female. Of the 279 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Halleigh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Halleigh is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Halleigh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Halleigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (234 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 Halleigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Halleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Halleigh 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 Halleigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Halleigh 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 Halleigh 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 are called Halleigh?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.