Over half a dozen variations of the name remain in common use. These range from Baillie and Bayly to Baylis and Bayless.

Bailey is an occupational name deriving from the Old French words ‘abillif’ and ‘baillis’. In medieval times a bailiff was anything from a Crown official to a King’s officer in a town or county, a keeper of a Royal household, or simply a Sheriff’s deputy. On feudal estates he was often a manorial official of some importance. For instance, the medieval records for the Manor of Droxford show the bailiff as receiving no less than the sum of £6 per annum-whereas the ploughman received only 8 shillings: a mere 1/15th of the bailiff’s wage (the poor shepherds received only 4 shillings). What’s more, the bailiff lived in the manor house at his lord’s expense. For this princely wage, he acted as a kind of agricultural supervisor-cum-foreman for his lord’s estate. His task was to make sure that the lands were properly and efficiently farmed, and to allot tasks to the workers. If a feudal lord was lazy or away at the Crusades, the bailiff virtually ran the estate. Thus he was a key man in its financial success or failure.

The name Bailey came across to England with William the Conqueror-probably in its original form of Bailiff. The origins of this name remain obscure, though it is possible that it derives from the Ancient Roman word for a burden-bajalus. Thus, a bailiff would be a person who bore a burden, or responsibility. The first English mention of the name Bailey appears in the thirteenth century. It is mentioned in the Friar’s Tale by Chaucer (‘ “Artow then a bayley?” “Ye”, quod he.’); Harry Bailey was the name of the Host in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a certain Alvered Ballivus (the Latinised form) appears in the records for Lincolnshire.

The name Bailey is also common in Scotland, where a Scots alderman is still referred to as a bailie. The earliest Scottish mention comes in the 1311—13 records for Lothian, where one William de Baillie appears as a juror. The ‘de’ means this name almost certainly refers to a place, probably a keep or castle. In Lancashire also the surname Bailey appears as de Baylegh (1246), from the place Bailey (near Stonyhurst), a name meaning ‘glade where berries grow’.

During this time, and in subsequent centuries, there was some confusion about the name Bailey (or Baillie and so on) in Scotland. According to popular Clydeside myth all Baileys had originally been called Balliol, but changed their names because of the two unpopular Scottish kings of that name. In most instances this was not the case.

In medieval times a bailey was a fort surrounded by a deep ditch and protected on the inside by a wooden palisade.

The Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court, is named for the street in which it stands, whose name in turn derives from the days when a medieval fort stood on the location which was just outside the City’s walls.

The Bailey Bridge invented by Sir Donald Bailey was first used in 1942—3. Made of uniform prefabricated girders, it was easy to transport and erect, yet strong enough to bear tanks or trains.

The Baily Cup (1920 on) is the top prize in British Amateur Real Tennis doubles.

Baily’s beads, named for their discoverer Francis Baily (1774—1844), are seen during an eclipse of the sun. Just before total eclipse, the narrow crescent of the sun’s rays is broken by the moon’s mountains and valleys. Seen from the earth, this gives a bead-like effect.

Since ‘baile’ means town in Gaelic, Ireland abounds in the name and in the corruption ‘Baily’, such as Bally castle and Ballyshannon. Baile Atha Cliath (town at the ford of the hurdles) is Dublin’s official Gaelic name.

The only town to bear a version of this surname in the United Kingdom is Bailleston. However, there are two Baileys in the United States and South Africa also has a town so named.

With about 107,000 namesakes, Bailey is the 49th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Bailey is notably popular in and around Leicester where an estimated one in about 390 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol are other Bailey strongholds. Around the world Baileys are most common in Montreal (one in 683 families), Canberra (one in 1,000) and Sydney (one in 1,122). The United States has more Baileys than the entire population of Plymouth-an estimated total of just over 275,000 makes this their 60th most popular surname.