Hedley
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- HED-lee
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
Hedley is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “heather clearing”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Hedley mean?
English: place name and surname, from Old English hǣð 'heather' + lēah 'clearing'
“heather clearing”
Taken from English places such as Hedley on the Hill in Northumberland.
Is Hedley a girl's or a boy's name?
Hedley is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Hedley in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 5,065th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3 about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady much the same
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Hedley, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,819th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 9 boys.
Half of all the boys named Hedley in the UK since 1996 were born between 2007 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Hedley in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 5 | #3,772 |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,193 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 7 | #2,819 |
| 2019 | 4 | #4,126 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2015 | 8 | #2,614 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 4 | #4,147 |
| 2011 | 3 | #4,837 |
| 2010 | 7 | #2,775 |
| 2009 | 3 | #4,691 |
| 2008 | 9 | #2,212 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,231 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,090 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 6 | #2,283 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,170 |
| 1997 | 4 | #2,438 |
Names like Hedley
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Harley, Riley, Marley, Stanley, Henley, Oakley, Sonny, Sidney, Huxley, Finley, Hudson, Hadley
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter, Harrison
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Hedley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/hedley, updated 20 October 2026.