Meaning & Origin
An English placename.
Hayley is a girl's and boy's baby name of Old English origin, from an English place name meaning "hay clearing" or "hay meadow," from the Old English haeg (hay) and leah (clearing, meadow). It was popularized as a given name largely through actress Hayley Mills.
With over 51,000 U.S. births recorded, Hayley has been one of the most successful place-name transfers of the 20th century. Actress Hayley Mills — the beloved star of Pollyanna and The Parent Trap — made the name famous in the 1960s, and it has remained in steady use ever since as one of the more durable modern English place-name-derived names.