MEANING & HISTORY
What does Bailey mean?
Bailey comes from an English surname based on Middle English baili, bailiff. The surname originally identified someone by an official role before it entered first-name use.
This is an occupational route, distinct from the architectural word for a castle courtyard that happens to share the spelling. Bailey has documented use for more than one gender in English naming. The historical job-word meaning does not establish the occupation or social role of a modern bearer.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
(English topographic surname): See bailey (“outer castle wall”)
A unisex given name; A male given name transferred from the surname.; A female given name transferred from the surname.
Wiktionary: Bailey (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Bailey
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Bailey May
Filipino-British singer, actor and model
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
1
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Bailey May
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Bailey in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Bailey
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Alley·Recorded familiar form of Alice or Aloysius
- Balet♀Familiar form of Valeriana or Valentina
- Farley·Fern clearing
- Kayley♀Kaylee variant formed from kay and lee sounds
- Ashley♀Ash-tree clearing
- Baby♂♀English infant word used as a personal name
- Barry·Irish Bairre-family form, or a familiar name from other bases
- Basil♂Royal or kingly
What rhymes with Bailey?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Explore Bailey further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q4848330 — Bailey (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Bailey May (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q4848330 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Bailey (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Bailey (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.