Hartley
Hartley Origin and Meaning
Smart and preppy, but with plenty of heart, Hartley is a surname style name that could work as an alternative to the popular Harley, Harlowe, Harper, and Hadley. Quietly used for boys throughout the 20th century, Hartley took off for girls in 2010 after both Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath and baseball player Matt Cain used the name for their daughters.
Ultimately deriving from a place name, it comes from the Old English words heorot meaning "stag, male deer" and leah meaning "meadow, clearing". They come together to make a name that evokes images of English parks, while also feeling stylish and contemporary.
Used by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge for his son, giving it a hint of literary flair, the name is also a jam and marmalade manufacturer in the UK, which might put some people off.
In the US, it is now predominantly used as a girls name, given to four girls for every one boy. It doubled in use after the two celebrity-baby-Hartleys were born in the early 2010s, and is currently given to 130 girls.
Hartley Popularity
20 Names Similar to Hartley
Famous People Named Hartley
- Hartley Grace McGrath (b. 2010)daughter of singer Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray
- Hartley Mae Cain (b. 2010)daughter of baseball pitcher Matt Cain
- Hartley Bader (b. 2012)daughter of mixed martial artist Ryan Bader
Hartley in Pop Culture
- (Mary) Hartley Fitchcharacter in "The Sea, the Sea" by Iris Murdoch