Hayward
Meaning "hay guard" or "person who guards the hay".
Name Census estimates that about 2,333 living Americans carry the first name Hayward. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hayward today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hayward births was 1956 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hayward. 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
2.3K
~ 1 in 146,916 Americans
Peak year
1956
95 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,391
Tracked since 1884
Census
Hayward in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,870 people with the first name Hayward, which placed it at #7,912 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
#7,912
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,870 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
56.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayward
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayward is Black at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hayward 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 Hayward at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.3% · 1,053
- White37.0% · 691
- Two or more races3.3% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Popularity
Hayward: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hayward from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 814 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hayward 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 Hayward during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haywards live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Hayward, while Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 128 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hayward
The name Hayward is of Old English origin, derived from the words "haye" meaning "hedge" and "ward" meaning "keeper" or "guard." It was initially a surname given to individuals who held the occupation of a hedge-keeper or someone responsible for maintaining and guarding hedges or enclosures.
In medieval times, the role of a hayward was essential in rural communities, as hedges played a crucial role in defining boundaries, protecting crops, and controlling the movement of livestock. The hayward was responsible for ensuring that hedges were properly maintained and enforcing rules related to their use and preservation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hayward can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Haiwrde" and "Heyward," indicating its widespread use as a surname during that period.
While the name Hayward was primarily used as a surname, it eventually transitioned into a given name as well. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the given name Hayward was Hayward Townshend (1627-1668), an English politician and military officer who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
Another notable figure with the name Hayward was Hayward Morse (1775-1828), an American farmer and politician who served as a United States Representative from Massachusetts. He was born in Woodstock, Connecticut, and played a significant role in the early political landscape of the United States.
In the literary realm, Hayward Keniston (1897-1975) was an American author and educator known for his contributions to the field of American literature and culture. He taught at various prestigious universities, including Yale and the University of Michigan, and wrote several influential works on American literary criticism.
Hayward Cirker (1924-2011) was a prominent American business executive and philanthropist. He co-founded the Dover Corporation, a global manufacturer of industrial products, and served as its CEO for over three decades. Cirker was also actively involved in various philanthropic endeavors, supporting education and healthcare initiatives.
Lastly, Hayward Nishioka (1923-2009) was a Japanese-American artist and educator who made significant contributions to the field of ceramics and art education. He served as a professor at various institutions, including the University of Hawaii and the University of California, Berkeley, and his works are featured in numerous museum collections worldwide.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the given name Hayward throughout history, showcasing its longevity and cultural significance across diverse fields and backgrounds.
People
Hayward + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hayward 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
Hayward: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hayward?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,333 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hayward 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 146,916 US residents.
Is Hayward a common name?
We classify Hayward as "Rare". It ranks above 94.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,059 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hayward most popular?
The single biggest year for Hayward was 1956, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hayward is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hayward in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,870 people with the name Hayward, or 0.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,912 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 Hayward 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 Hayward?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hayward leans strongly male. 1,856 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 19 female bearers (1.0%). 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 Hayward?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hayward is Black at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (37.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hayward most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Hayward in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (1,053 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 Hayward in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hayward a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hayward 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 Hayward still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hayward 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 Hayward 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 share the name Hayward?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.