Fun Facts About the Name Bailie
- More than 1 thousand babies named Bailie: U.S. records list 1,653 babies given the name Bailie from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Bailie Mean?
Bailie is a surname of Scottish and northern English origin meaning bailiff or municipal magistrate. It comes from the Scots word bailie (also written baillie), the title of a magistrate who helped govern a Scottish burgh. That word was borrowed from Old French bailli, a steward or officer of justice who acted for a lord or king. The Old French term traces back to Late Latin baiulus, a porter or carrier, the same root behind English bailiff and bailiwick.
Because the surname came from an office rather than a place or a father's name, it was given to a man who held the post of bailie or who served in a bailiff's household. The spelling Bailie is the Scottish form; the closely related English spelling Bailey comes from the same Old French word, though Bailey also has other, separate sources.
Bailie Name History & Origins
The word bailie passed from Old French into Scots in the medieval period, when Scottish royal burghs were run by a town council whose magistrates were called bailies. A bailie handled local justice and administration under the burgh's provost. Since the office was well known, Bailie became a hereditary surname, either for a man who held the position or for one who worked for a bailie. The spelling Bailie is characteristic of Scottish records. The title itself is not extinct: some Scottish towns still use bailie for a burgh magistrate, and the office appears in Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817), where Bailie Nicol Jarvie is a Glasgow magistrate - a literary use of the title, not of the name as a first name.
As a given name, Bailie is a much later, modern development, following the general fashion of turning surnames into first names. It is used in the English-speaking world, most often for girls, and its history as a personal name should be kept distinct from the medieval Scottish office that produced the surname.
How Popular is the Name Bailie?
Bailie has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1997. Its best rank was #1,395 in 1997.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,541 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #11,224 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #13,695 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #9,780 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #9,051 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #9,656 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #11,521 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #10,687 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #10,820 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #8,470 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #8,532 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #6,239 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #5,518 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2012 | #5,732 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2011 | #5,388 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2010 | #4,878 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2009 | #5,116 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2008 | #2,722 | 67 | 0.0035% |
| 2007 | #2,793 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 2006 | #4,006 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2005 | #3,746 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2004 | #3,271 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 2003 | #3,360 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 2002 | #3,022 | 48 | 0.0027% |
| 2001 | #2,075 | 80 | 0.0044% |
| 2000 | #1,886 | 90 | 0.0050% |
| 1999 | #1,443 | 121 | 0.0068% |
| 1998 | #1,496 | 114 | 0.0065% |
| 1997 | #1,395 | 121 | 0.0070% |
| 1996 | #1,467 | 112 | 0.0064% |
| 1995 | #1,839 | 77 | 0.0044% |
| 1994 | #2,384 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 1993 | #2,536 | 49 | 0.0027% |
| 1992 | #2,035 | 67 | 0.0036% |
| 1991 | #3,167 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 1990 | #2,349 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1989 | #3,683 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1988 | #4,666 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1987 | #6,837 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1986 | #6,205 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1985 | #7,625 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #10,581 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Bailie Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Bailie's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Bailie's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.