Haggard
A masculine name of English origin possibly derived from "hagridden".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Haggard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Haggard today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haggard births was 1923 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haggard. 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 Haggard. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1923
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,815
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Haggard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haggard from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haggard 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 Haggard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Haggard
The name Haggard finds its origins in Old English, specifically the word "haggard" which meant "haggard" or "wild and untamed." It dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries CE, and was likely used as a descriptive term for someone who appeared weathered or unkempt in appearance.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Haggard can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It mentions a landowner named Haggard in the county of Lincolnshire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Haggard was predominantly used in England, particularly in the northern regions. It was occasionally found in historical records and legal documents from the 13th to 15th centuries, though its usage remained relatively rare.
One notable historical figure with the name Haggard was Sir Henry Haggard, an English baronet and Member of Parliament who lived from 1592 to 1670. Another early bearer of the name was John Haggard, an English churchman and academic who served as the Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, in the late 16th century.
In the 19th century, the name gained more prominence due to the writer H. Rider Haggard, born Henry Rider Haggard in 1856. He was a prolific English novelist known for his adventure novels set in exotic locations, such as "King Solomon's Mines" and "She." His works contributed to the popularity of the "lost world" literary genre and helped establish the name Haggard in the public consciousness.
Other notable individuals with the first name Haggard include Haggard Andrew, an American singer-songwriter born in 1938, and Haggard Lon, an American actor and filmmaker born in 1935, best known for his work in Western films and television series.
While the name Haggard was historically more common in England, it has since spread to other English-speaking countries, though it remains an uncommon first name choice overall.
People
Haggard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haggard 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
Haggard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haggard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haggard 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 Haggard a common name?
We classify Haggard 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, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haggard most popular?
The single biggest year for Haggard was 1923, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haggard is about 9 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 Haggard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haggard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haggard 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 Haggard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haggard 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 Haggard 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 common is the name Haggard?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.