Hazle
An English feminine name meaning "the hazel tree or hazel-eyed".
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Hazle. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Hazle today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hazle births was 1919 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hazle. 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
- • The typical person named Hazle is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hazles were born before 1963.
People living today
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
1919
99 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,628
Tracked since 1887
Census
Hazle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 229 people with the first name Hazle, which placed it at #35,223 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
#35,223
National first-name rank
People counted
229
229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hazle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hazle is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Hazle 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 Hazle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 139
- Black or African American22.3% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 18
- Two or more races3.9% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Hazle
Hazle leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 43 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hazle as a male name
- Ranked #3,628 in 1944
- 5 male births in 1944
- Peak: 1919 (8 births)
Hazle as a female name
- Ranked #14,205 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1924 (96 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hazle leans strongly female. 215 people counted with this name were female (96.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (4.0%).
Popularity
Hazle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hazle from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 832 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
Hazle 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 Hazle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hazles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Hazle, while Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hazle
The name Hazle is believed to have originated from the Old English word "hæsel," which means "hazel tree" or "hazel wood." It was a common name among the Anglo-Saxons and was often used as a surname derived from a location associated with hazel trees or a place where hazel nuts were abundant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hazle dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a surname for individuals living in areas with a significant presence of hazel trees or groves. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in England and parts of northern Europe.
In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, the renowned English poet and author, mentioned the name Hazle in his literary work "The Canterbury Tales." This reference suggests that the name was relatively well-known during that period, although it was likely more common as a surname than a given name.
During the Renaissance period, the name Hazle was occasionally used as a given name, although its usage remained relatively rare. One notable figure from this era was Hazle Fitzherbert (1470-1535), an English noblewoman and the secret wife of King Henry VIII. Their marriage, though never officially recognized by the Church, caused significant controversy and played a role in the English Reformation.
In the 17th century, Hazle Donne (1609-1662), an English poet and the son of the renowned metaphysical poet John Donne, bore the name. He served as a clergyman in the Church of England and was known for his religious poetry and sermons.
Another notable figure with the name Hazle was Hazle Woodhouse (1701-1788), an English mathematician and astronomer. She made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society, a prestigious honor for her time.
While the name Hazle has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a unique and distinctive quality, often associated with its origins and connections to nature and the English countryside.
People
Hazle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hazle 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
Hazle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hazle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hazle 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 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Hazle a common name?
We classify Hazle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,484 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hazle most popular?
The single biggest year for Hazle was 1919, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hazle is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hazle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 229 people with the name Hazle, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,223 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 Hazle 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 Hazle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hazle leans strongly female. 215 people counted with this name were female (96.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (4.0%). 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 Hazle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hazle is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Hazle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hazle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (139 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 Hazle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hazle a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Hazle in the SSA data are female. 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 Hazle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hazle 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 Hazle 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 Americans are named Hazle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.