How Many People Are Named Halley?
An estimated 3,966 people in the United States have the first name Halley. It is predominantly female (97.0%). The average bearer is 28 years old, and Halley peaked in popularity in 1986 with 355 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Halley as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Halley paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Halley is overwhelmingly female, 126 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
3,966
About 1 in 86,423 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
97.0% confidence
Average Age
28
years old
Peak Year
1986
355 births
Total Registered
4,195
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Halley
Halley is predominantly female (97.0%), though 126 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Halley as a male name
Ranked #2,456 in 1986
22 male births in 1986
Peak: 1986 (22 births)
Halley as a female name
Ranked #2,720 in 2024
63 female births in 2024
Peak: 1986 (333 births)
Halley: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Halley span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 1,314 babies were registered. Halley has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Halley by Decade
How has Halley tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Halley by State
Birth registrations for Halley span all 36 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Ohio. The lowest are in West Virginia, South Carolina, Nebraska. On average, about 48 Halleys were registered per state.
Halley + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Halley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Halley
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Halley: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Halley?
We estimate approximately 3,966 people named Halley are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 86,423 Americans share this first name.
Is Halley a common name?
Halley is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,195 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Halley most popular?
Halley reached peak popularity in 1986, when 355 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Halley is approximately 28 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Halley a female name?
Halley is predominantly female. 97.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Halley Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Halley Smith, Halley Johnson, Halley Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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