Bailey is an English occupational surname from the Middle English baili and means "bailiff" or "steward", the officer who managed an estate or a court. In the 1990s it became one of the first surname names to be adopted mainly for girls in the United States. Bailey was number 68 among US girls' names in 2000, its best position, and still ranked number 107 in 2015; it has since eased to number 209 in 2025.