Fun Facts About the Name Baily
- More than 1 thousand babies named Baily: U.S. records list 1,824 babies given the name Baily from 1880 through 2025. Even 417 boys received the name Baily - about 1 boy for every 3 girls.
What Does the Name Baily Mean?
Baily is a spelling variant of the English name Bailey. Its usual meaning is "bailiff" or "steward," from Middle English bailli and Old French bailli or baillif, terms for a local official who managed an estate, collected rents, or carried out administrative and legal duties for a lord or king. The Old French word is the source of the English word bailiff. A second, less common derivation for Bailey is topographic: Middle English bailey could refer to the outer wall or courtyard of a castle, from Old French baile, "enclosure." For the spelling Baily, the occupational meaning "bailiff" or "steward" is the meaning most often given.
Baily Name History & Origins
The name behind Baily came to England with the Normans. Old French bailli named a royal or lord's official, and in medieval England a bailiff was a steward or agent who oversaw lands, rents, or local justice. As a surname, Bailey and its variants were first used to identify a person by that occupation. A separate stream of the surname arose from the castle bailey, the defended enclosure or outer court of a fortress, so a person living near such a place could also be called Bailey.
English spelling was not fixed in the Middle Ages, and the surname appears in forms such as Bailey, Bayly, Baillie, and Baily. The Baily spelling is one of the later standardized variants. The given name Baily is not an Old English personal name; it is a transferred use of the surname Bailey, which also came to be used as a first name in the English-speaking world. The astronomer Francis Baily (1774 - 1844), known for describing Baily's beads during a solar eclipse, is a documented bearer of the surname spelling.
How Popular is the Name Baily?
Baily 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 #1,672 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 | #11,092 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #7,625 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #8,118 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2022 | #9,142 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #9,052 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #12,337 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #10,601 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #8,224 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #6,851 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #11,011 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #7,023 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2014 | #6,491 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #6,044 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2012 | #3,926 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2011 | #4,589 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2010 | #3,365 | 48 | 0.0027% |
| 2009 | #4,699 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 2008 | #3,655 | 44 | 0.0023% |
| 2007 | #3,253 | 52 | 0.0027% |
| 2006 | #3,743 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 2005 | #3,321 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 2004 | #3,341 | 45 | 0.0025% |
| 2003 | #2,642 | 60 | 0.0033% |
| 2002 | #3,105 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 2001 | #2,464 | 63 | 0.0035% |
| 2000 | #2,145 | 75 | 0.0041% |
| 1999 | #1,810 | 88 | 0.0050% |
| 1998 | #1,819 | 85 | 0.0048% |
| 1997 | #1,672 | 94 | 0.0054% |
| 1996 | #2,427 | 53 | 0.0030% |
| 1995 | #2,370 | 55 | 0.0031% |
| 1994 | #3,456 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1993 | #2,997 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1992 | #3,149 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1991 | #4,072 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1990 | #3,722 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1989 | #4,688 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1988 | #3,903 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1987 | #5,953 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #5,784 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #6,505 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #9,241 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | #9,969 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #11,069 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #6,958 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #7,689 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #4,814 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #6,301 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #2,951 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2001 | #2,685 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2000 | #1,944 | 53 | 0.0027% |
| 1999 | #1,753 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1998 | #1,849 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1997 | #1,754 | 55 | 0.0029% |
| 1996 | #1,961 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 1995 | #3,201 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1994 | #8,908 | 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 Baily 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.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Baily's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Baily's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.