Haywood
From the Old English words "hæg" (hedge) and "wudu" (wood), meaning "hay meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 2,707 living Americans carry the first name Haywood. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Haywood today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haywood births was 1919 (137 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haywood. 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,618 Americans
Peak year
1919
137 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,579
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Haywood: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haywood 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 1,073 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
Haywood 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 Haywood during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haywoods live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama recorded the most babies named Haywood, while Illinois, Ohio, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 204 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Haywood
The given name Haywood has its roots in Old English, originating from the words "hæg" (a hedge or fence) and "wudu" (a wood or forest). This combination suggests that the name might have initially referred to a person living near or associated with a hedged or fenced woodland area.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century, names were often derived from descriptive elements related to one's occupation, location, or physical attributes. The name Haywood likely emerged as a descriptive surname during this time, potentially referring to someone who lived near a hedged or fenced woodland area.
While there are no known historical references to the name Haywood in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval English records and documents.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Haywood was Sir John Haywood, a 15th-century English lawyer and author. He served as a Serjeant-at-Law and is known for his legal treatise "Haywood's Reports of Cases" published in 1585.
Another notable figure was Sir Rowland Haywood, an English politician who lived from 1540 to 1611. He served as a Member of Parliament and was involved in the colonization of North America, being one of the patentees of the Virginia Company.
In the literary world, Thomas Haywood, an English writer and playwright, made a significant contribution during the early 17th century. He was born around 1570 and is best known for his plays and prose works, including "The Fair Captive" and "The English Traveller."
Another individual of note was John Haywood, an English writer and translator who lived from 1637 to 1700. He is renowned for his translations of various works, including "The Travels of the Jesuits in Ethiopia" and "The Life of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden."
Lastly, William Haywood, an American politician and lawyer, played a role in the early history of the United States. Born in 1738, he served as a delegate from North Carolina to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Articles of Confederation.
These examples demonstrate the historical presence of the given name Haywood across various fields, including law, politics, literature, and early American history, highlighting its enduring use throughout the centuries.
People
Haywood + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haywood 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
Haywood: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haywood?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haywood 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 126,618 US residents.
Is Haywood a common name?
We classify Haywood as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,530 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haywood most popular?
The single biggest year for Haywood was 1919, when 137 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haywood is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Haywood a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haywood 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.