Haesten
An Old English masculine given name meaning "violent" or "tempestuous".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Haesten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Haesten today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haesten births was 2023 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haesten. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Haesten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2023
5 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,877
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Haesten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Haesten by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Haesten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Haesten
The name Haesten originates from the Old English language and is believed to have been derived from the Old English word "hæstan," which means "to hasten or hurry." It was a popular name among the Anglo-Saxons, particularly during the 9th and 10th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Haesten can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it refers to a Viking leader who led a series of raids on the Kingdom of Wessex in the late 9th century. This Haesten is often described as a skilled and fearsome warrior, and his name has become synonymous with the Viking invasions of England during that period.
Another historical figure with the name Haesten was a Danish Viking chieftain who was active in the late 9th century. He is mentioned in the Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work by the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, as one of the leaders of a Viking army that invaded the Frisian islands.
In the 11th century, a Norwegian nobleman named Haesten Haakonsson is recorded as having been a close advisor to King Harald Hardrada. He accompanied the king on his ill-fated invasion of England in 1066, which culminated in the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
During the Middle Ages, the name Haesten was also found in various European regions, including Scandinavia, Germany, and the Low Countries. One notable bearer of the name was Haesten van Gent, a Flemish knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was captured by the English at the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
In more recent times, the name Haesten has been used less frequently, but it has not completely disappeared. One example is Haesten Schöning, a 17th-century Danish historian and antiquarian who wrote extensively about the history and culture of Norway.
People
Haesten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haesten as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Haesten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haesten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haesten going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Haesten a common name?
We classify Haesten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haesten most popular?
The single biggest year for Haesten was 2023, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haesten is about 3 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Haesten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haesten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haesten in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Haesten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haesten in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Haesten can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Haesten as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.