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Baby Names:

Bailey

Meaning: Bailiff; berry clearing; castle wall

Origin: English

Alternate spellings: Bailee, Baylee, Bailee, Baylee, Bayleigh, Baileigh, Bailee

Bailey is an old English word with three distinct meanings – an English nickname for a bailiff, a berry clearing (this comes from the words “beg leah,” or berry wood), and a castle wall. But for the younger generation, the name Bailey was put on the map by troubled teenager Bailey Salinger in Party of Five. Of course, we know you don’t want your girl’s life to be as conflicted as Bailey’s…but, of course, she won’t grow up as an orphan (knock on wood).

Bailey – another unisex name – had to fight itself to survive. Bailey hit the boy’s charts back in the 1800s and got popular in the 1990s – Party of Five‘s heyday – rising from #768 in 1994 to #277 the next year. Bailey the girl rose quickly at around the same time, hitting the charts in 1983 and reaching #60 by 1998. Like most trendy unisex names, Bailey couldn’t stay popular for both genders. One had to go…so Bailey the boy fell quickly out of favor, while Bailey the girl kept its status.