Originally used as a surname, Bailey comes from the Middle English word baili, meaning "bailiff," used to denote those who worked as bailiffs, although it can also be translated to mean "debt collector" or "agent of the law". While originally mainly used as a boys name, Bailey has become more gender neutral over time, especially in the latter-half of the 20th century. The name’s popularity peaked in the late 1990s and, although it remained relatively common throughout the early 2000s, its popularity has been waning ever since.