Heily
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Hebrew name Hailah.
Name Census estimates that about 706 living Americans carry the first name Heily. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Heily today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heily births was 2008 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heily. 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
706
~ 1 in 485,488 Americans
Peak year
2008
54 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,587
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Heily: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heily 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 292 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Heily remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heily 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 Heily during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heilys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Heily, while New Jersey, Arizona, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 44 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Heily
The given name Heily is believed to have originated from the Germanic languages, specifically Old Norse or Old English. It likely stems from the Old Norse word "heilagr" or the Old English word "halig," both meaning "holy" or "sacred." This linguistic connection suggests that the name was initially associated with religious or spiritual connotations.
In ancient Germanic cultures, names often reflected the qualities or characteristics that parents wished for their children. The name Heily may have been bestowed upon a child with the hope that they would lead a virtuous and pious life, or perhaps as a way to invoke divine blessings upon the child.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that variations of the name were used in early Germanic communities, particularly among those who embraced Christianity after its introduction to the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Heily can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Heily in the county of Norfolk, England. This suggests that the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxon population of Britain during the 11th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the name Heily. One such person was Heily von Lilienstein, a German knight and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade (1189-1192) under the leadership of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
In the 15th century, Heily Kröger was a prominent merchant and trader in the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe.
During the 16th century, Heily Schönfeld was a respected German theologian and author who wrote extensively on Protestant theology and biblical interpretation.
In the 18th century, Heily Müller was a renowned German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and classification.
More recently, Heily Acton (1890-1971) was a British author and playwright known for her historical novels and plays set in various periods of English history.
While these are just a few examples, the name Heily has been present throughout various periods and cultures, often associated with individuals who have made notable contributions in fields such as religion, commerce, academia, and the arts.
People
Heily + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heily 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
Heily: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heily?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 706 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heily 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 485,488 US residents.
Is Heily a common name?
We classify Heily as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 713 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heily most popular?
The single biggest year for Heily was 2008, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heily is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Heily a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Heily 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.