How to say it
BAI · ley
/ˈbeɪ.li/
Unisex
Bailey
Bailiff, or 'outer wall of a castle'
What it means
English occupational surname for a bailiff (a court official), from Anglo-French bailli. Also from the bailey (the outer wall of a medieval castle). Surname-first usage went unisex in the 2000s and now leans feminine.
Bailey comes from two related Anglo-French roots: bailli ('bailiff,' a manorial or court official) and the architectural bailey (the outer wall or courtyard of a castle, as in the Old Bailey, London's central criminal court). The surname has been common in England for centuries. The first-name usage in the US started masculine in the 1980s, flipped unisex in the 2000s, and now leans feminine. It's been in the US top 200 since 2003. The Bailey's Irish Cream brand and It's a Wonderful Life's George Bailey are pop-culture anchors.
Popularity over time
Feminine: peaked at #60 in 1998, currently #209 in 2025.
Masculine: peaked at #151 in 1997, currently #1358 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
George Bailey of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is the strongest English-language pop-culture anchor; Beverly Hills, 90210's Brenda Walsh's friend Bailey was the 1990s reference.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- George Bailey Jimmy Stewart's character in It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
Spelling variants
- Bailee
- Baylee
- Bayleigh
Names with the same feeling
See Bailey from another angle
By style