For a very long time, from the 1990s to most of the 2010s, the only Halle most people would immediately think of with that captivating first name is of course Halle Berry (@0:17): the Grammy winning actress who has been voted as one of People Magazine's '50 Most Beautiful People' before. The name Halle is just one of those attractive names, one will automatically assume the bearer is beautiful (just like with someone bearing the unattractive name Bertha, the opposite is assumed) and Halle Berry can be thanked for that.
The name Halle is so distinct I didn't ever image there could be two famous Halles but now there is. Halle Bailey has become a household name since 2023 after starring as Ariel in the live action The Little Mermaid movie. Yet, whenever I hear a Halle mentioned in the news, I still immediately think of Berry because I grew up on her. But because their last names even look and sort of sound the same, it does get confusing!
Halle Berry was actually born Maria Halle Berry. At age five her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry. Her original middle name was brilliantly named after Halle's, a once popular department store in Cleveland, Ohio. My Name Stats states that Ohio is where the most Halles live, which makes perfect sense since Halle Berry was born there. No surprise the name Halle rose to popularity in the 1990s when Halle Berry herself rose to stardom.
Halle Bailey on the other hand, was born Halle Bailey. She shared her name story on Live with Kelly and Mark and revealed however, she was almost named Hailey: "... originally when I was a baby, they wanted to name me Hailey but my last name is Bailey. So that wouldn't have worked. And they they ultimately decided Halle, and it's very similar to Halle Berry. But there's no one else I would rather have a similar name to cause she's so cool." Halle Berry saw the clip and responded to Halle Bailey on their same first name: "I’m JUST as honored to share a name with the very talented and super sweet @hallebailey!!"
Halle is shockingly a unisex name! But it is a boys name first, of Norse origin, with the meaning of 'Thor's stone.' Behind the Name explains Halle is: From the Old Norse name Halli, a diminutive of names containing the element hallr meaning "rock".
'H names' for girls rank #11 in popularity in 2024 and I thought it would be slightly lower. I absolutely adore the name Halle. It's a gorgeous name, from how it looks to how it sounds. It's probably my second favorite 'H' name ('Hester' btw is my first favorite) for a girl to be called (this may be 🤦🏿♀️cringe but... when I was in my 20s in the 2000s I had the nickname Halle for awhile because of my pixie haircut at the time. I was delighted of course! 😊).
If Halle Berry had kept her birth name Maria, how would that have played out? 🤔 Her having the original name Halle made her original in Hollywood, perhaps making her stand out more. And I think if Halle Bailey's name would have been Hailey Bailey (a publicist has the same moniker) that would have been very cute and eye-catching but maybe too similar sounding? 🤔
I like that there's two well-known Halles - one for the older generation and one for the younger generation. Halle is synonymous with beauty and I feel it will remain a rare name only a chosen few can pull off like the lovely ✔Berry or ✔Bailey.
⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛HALLES:
📛Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson 👩🏿⚕️ (doctor *1st licensed female in Alabama)
📛Halle Abadi 👩🏻🎤 (singer)
📛Halle Kearns 👩🏼🎤 (singer)
♂️Masculine Version of 📛Halle:
💭I do not like hearing Halle as a masculine name Halli. 👎 It just sounds 'wrong.' 🫨 I only like that the spelling is at least different but it still looks feminine. 🤔 I 1000% prefer the feminine version! 😌
📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Halle:
https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/H/HA/HALLE/index.html☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Halle: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/10
