Meaning & Story
A habitational surname from Old English meaning "Haed's clearing" or "heathland clearing" — Hadley is an American surname name that became a popular given name for girls, with literary associations to Ernest Hemingway's first wife.
Hadley has the fresh, outdoorsy quality of American surname names that hit their stride as given names in the 1990s and 2000s. Hadley Richardson Hemingway — Ernest's first wife, whose tragic loss of the manuscript containing his early Paris stories is one of literary history's great sorrows — gives the name a quietly romantic, literary dimension. On a female pet with a lively, independent spirit and a preference for open spaces, Hadley is an excellent choice.