Hayk
A masculine given name of Armenian origin meaning "the instigator".
Name Census estimates that about 393 living Americans carry the first name Hayk. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hayk today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hayk births was 2022 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hayk. 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.
People living today
393
~ 1 in 872,148 Americans
Peak year
2022
39 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,113
Tracked since 1998
Census
Hayk in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 909 people with the first name Hayk, which placed it at #13,330 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,330
National first-name rank
People counted
909
909 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
97.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayk
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayk is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hayk described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hayk at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 883
- Two or more races1.3% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 4
- Black or African American0.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Hayk: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hayk from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 152 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
Hayk 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 Hayk during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hayks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hayk
The name Hayk is of Armenian origin, derived from the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation, Hayk Nahapet. It has its roots in the ancient Armenian language and mythology, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC.
According to the ancient Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, Hayk Nahapet was a descendant of the biblical Noah and the progenitor of the Armenian people. He is revered as a mythological hero who led his people to victory against the Babylonian king Bel in the Ararat Valley, establishing the first Armenian kingdom.
The name Hayk is a testament to the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of Armenia. It is deeply ingrained in the collective memory of the Armenian people and has been recorded in various ancient texts and manuscripts, including the epic poem "Daredevils of Sassoun."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hayk can be found in the inscriptions of the Urartian Kingdom, which flourished in the region of modern-day Armenia from the 9th to the 6th century BC. The name appeared as a variant spelling, "Khayku," on cuneiform tablets and stone inscriptions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hayk. One of the most famous was Hayk Ardzruni (fl. 10th century), an Armenian prince and military leader who played a pivotal role in defending the Armenian Kingdom of Vaspurakan against the Byzantine Empire.
Another prominent figure was Hayk Hunanyan (1888-1938), a renowned Armenian writer, poet, and political activist who played a significant role in the Armenian literary renaissance of the early 20th century.
In the field of science, Hayk Mirzakhanyan (1891-1966) was a pioneering Armenian physicist who made important contributions to the study of cosmic rays and the development of nuclear physics in the Soviet Union.
The name Hayk also gained prominence in the realm of sports with Hayk Dzhangiryan (1888-1918), an Armenian wrestler and athlete who achieved international acclaim for his feats in the early 20th century.
Lastly, Hayk Hovhannisyan (1947-2022) was a celebrated Armenian actor and director who left an indelible mark on the Armenian theater and cinema with his versatile performances and directorial works.
People
Hayk + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hayk 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
Hayk: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hayk?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 393 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hayk 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 872,148 US residents.
Is Hayk a common name?
We classify Hayk as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 396 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hayk most popular?
The single biggest year for Hayk was 2022, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hayk is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hayk in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 909 people with the name Hayk, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,330 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hayk in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hayk?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hayk appears almost entirely male. Of the 906 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hayk?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayk is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hayk most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hayk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (883 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Hayk in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hayk a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hayk 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 Hayk still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hayk 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 Hayk 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.
How many people are named Hayk?
Find out how many people have the name Hayk on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.