An English surname, Haley comes from the Old English terms ‘heg’ and ‘leah’ which mean a cleared area of hay. The spelling variations for Haley include Healy, Haly, Hely, O’Healey, O’Haly and Healy. In England the Haley families mostly live in Yorkshire and the city of London. There are other scatterings of Haley families over most of England. In Scotland the Haley families reside in Angus, Perthshire, Fife, Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire and Aberdeenshire. Within the United States the Haley families originated in Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Tennessee, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. Famous: Alex Haley (researcher and writer on genealogy), Gina Haley (singer and songwriter), Shay Haley (musician), Jack Haley (movie film actor), Fred “J.” Haley (professional baseball player), Matt Haley (comic book artist), Charles Haley (professional football player), Bill Haley (singer and musical) and Jack Haley (professional basketball player).