Payden
An English modern unisex name perhaps related to "payed" meaning peaceful or calm.
Name Census estimates that about 1,998 living Americans carry the first name Payden. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Payden today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Payden births was 2008 (127 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Payden. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 171,549 Americans
Peak year
2008
127 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,372
Tracked since 1986
Gender
Gender distribution for Payden
Payden is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,027 total registrations, 1,332 (65.7%) were male and 695 (34.3%) were female.
Payden as a male name
- Ranked #6,372 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (75 births)
Payden as a female name
- Ranked #10,859 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (57 births)
Popularity
Payden: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Payden from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 742 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
Payden 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 Payden during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paydens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, Utah, California recorded the most babies named Payden, while Ohio, Mississippi, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Payden
The given name Payden has its roots in the Old English language, originating from the Anglo-Saxon era around the 5th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "paeden," which means "path" or "trail." This name was likely given to individuals who lived or worked near well-trodden paths or traveled frequently along trade routes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Payden can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, a landowner named Payden is mentioned as holding property in the county of Oxfordshire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Payden was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in various historical records and literary works. In the 13th century, a French troubadour named Payden de Marseille was renowned for his lyrical compositions and love songs. Another notable bearer of the name was Payden of Salisbury, a 14th-century English monk and scholar who wrote several theological treatises.
During the Renaissance period, the name Payden gained some popularity among the nobility and wealthy merchant classes. One noteworthy individual was Payden Hastings (1515-1574), an English courtier and diplomat who served as an ambassador to the court of King Henry VIII.
In the 17th century, a Dutch explorer named Payden van der Meer (1620-1678) became famous for his expeditions to the East Indies and his detailed accounts of the region's geography and cultures.
Another prominent figure with the name Payden was Payden Fitzgerald (1788-1865), an Irish poet and playwright who was part of the Romantic literary movement. His works celebrated Irish nationalism and the country's rich cultural heritage.
People
Payden + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Payden as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Payden: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Payden?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,998 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Payden 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 171,549 US residents.
Is Payden a common name?
We classify Payden as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,027 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Payden most popular?
The single biggest year for Payden was 2008, when 127 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Payden is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Payden a male name?
Yes, 65.7% of people registered as Payden 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.