Haigen
A masculine Japanese name meaning "feather" or "plume".
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Haigen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Haigen today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haigen births was 2014 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haigen. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Haigen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Haigen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
2014
13 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,129
Tracked since 2014
Gender
Gender distribution for Haigen
Haigen leans heavily male at 88.0% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Haigen as a male name
- Ranked #9,129 in 2021
- 8 male births in 2021
- Peak: 2014 (13 births)
Haigen as a female name
- Ranked #14,992 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (6 births)
Popularity
Haigen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haigen from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 42 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haigen 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 Haigen 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 Haigen
The name Haigen is of German origin, derived from the Old High German words "hagin" meaning "enclosure" and "hagan" meaning "hedge". It is believed to have emerged as a surname during the medieval period, referring to someone who lived near a hedged or enclosed area.
In the 16th century, the name Haigen was recorded in various German texts and records, often associated with rural communities and villages. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Heidelberg archives, where a farmer named Haigen Bauer was mentioned in a land dispute document dated 1543.
Throughout history, the name Haigen has been relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals have borne it. In the 18th century, Haigen Wittelsbach (1714-1799) was a Bavarian nobleman and military officer who served in the Seven Years' War. Another individual of note was Haigen Müller (1832-1917), a German botanist and explorer who conducted extensive research on the flora of South America.
In the 19th century, the name Haigen appeared in the literary works of German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In his novel "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," a character named Haigen is mentioned as a friend of the protagonist. This literary reference may have contributed to the name's recognition and usage during that period.
One of the most prominent individuals named Haigen was the German philosopher and sociologist Haigen Marcuse (1898-1979). He was a prominent figure in the Frankfurt School of critical theory and is renowned for his works on social criticism, such as "One-Dimensional Man" and "Eros and Civilization."
Another notable figure was Haigen von Gernet (1905-1998), a German-born Russian Orientalist and historian. He made significant contributions to the study of ancient Chinese history and culture, particularly during his tenure at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
While the name Haigen has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, writers, and military personnel. Its connection to the German language and rural origins adds a unique cultural significance to this name.
People
Haigen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haigen 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
Haigen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haigen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haigen 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Haigen a common name?
We classify Haigen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 50 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haigen most popular?
The single biggest year for Haigen was 2014, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haigen 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 Haigen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haigen a male name?
Yes, 88.0% of people registered as Haigen 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 Haigen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haigen 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 Haigen 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 are called Haigen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.