Haleigh

Haleigh is one of the (gasp) ten spelling variations of Hayley currently in circulation in the United States (although they also appear on the charts of the Netherlands, Canada and Australia, just not as often and not as many). Hailey is the most common spelling given to just over 50% of the baby Haileys being born followed by (in order of popularity) Haley, Haylee, Hayley, Halle, Hailee, Hallie, Haleigh, Haylie and Hayleigh. Have we exhausted you yet? Haleigh is one of the more fanciful respellings of this name but not one of its most popular (about 3% get it). Hayley comes from the Old English words “hēg” (meaning “hay”) and “lēah” (meaning “clearing, glade”). Another etymological source suggests that Hayley may also be derived from the Old Norse word “haela” meaning “hero”. This is a plausible source of the name since many Scandinavians settled in England dating back to pre medieval times. The given form of the name came into use in the 1970s and really caught on in popularity the United States by the mid-80’s. Adding interest to the name was Halley’s Comet which came blasting through the earth’s atmosphere in 1986, a rare event visible to the naked eye that happens only once every 75 years!