Hayden
A masculine name of English origin meaning "hay-covered valley".
Name Census estimates that about 140,851 living Americans carry the first name Hayden. It sits at #154 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Hayden today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hayden births was 2008 (8,611 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hayden. 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
- • Hayden is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
141K
~ 1 in 2,433 Americans
Peak year
2008
8,611 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#154
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Hayden
Hayden is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 144,513 total registrations, 111,803 (77.4%) were male and 32,710 (22.6%) were female.
Hayden as a male name
- Ranked #154 in 2024
- 2,337 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (6,470 births)
Hayden as a female name
- Ranked #401 in 2024
- 787 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (2,662 births)
Popularity
Hayden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hayden from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 60,536 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hayden 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 Hayden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haydens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Hayden, while District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,743 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hayden
The name Hayden is an English surname that later became adopted as a masculine given name. It is believed to have originated from the Old English words "hæg" meaning hedge and "denu" meaning valley, essentially translating to "the valley in the hedge" or "hedged valley." This name is thought to have its roots in the Anglo-Saxon era, with the earliest recorded instances of the name dating back to the 12th century.
In the year 1202, a record shows a person named Haiden de Haidene, which is considered one of the earliest documented uses of the name. Over time, the spelling evolved to Hayden, and it became more commonly used as a surname in England.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Hayden was Sir John Hayden, who lived from around 1470 to 1518. He was an English merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1512. Another significant figure was Digby Hayden (1605-1658), an English clergyman and theologian who served as a chaplain to King Charles I during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, Hopton Hayden (1688-1770) was a prominent British lawyer and Member of Parliament. He played a role in the establishment of the Foundling Hospital in London, which was one of the earliest establishments dedicated to caring for abandoned children.
Moving forward, the name Hayden gained more recognition with the renowned American composer and pianist Dennis Hayden, who lived from 1917 to 2007. He is renowned for his contributions to modern classical music and his innovative compositions.
Another notable individual was Sterling Hayden (1916-1986), an American actor, author, and maritime explorer. He starred in numerous films throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, including "The Asphalt Jungle," "The Killing," and "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb."
While the name Hayden has its roots in Old English, it has gained widespread popularity across various cultures and continues to be a popular choice for parents worldwide.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Hayden
People
Hayden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hayden 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
Hayden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hayden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140,851 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hayden 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 2,433 US residents.
Is Hayden a common name?
We classify Hayden as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 144,513 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hayden most popular?
The single biggest year for Hayden was 2008, when 8,611 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hayden is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hayden a male name?
Yes, 77.4% of people registered as Hayden 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.
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.