Find out how popular the last name Hayden is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hayden.

Hayden, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hayden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hayden in America

Hayden is the 930th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hayden surname appeared 37,451 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Hayden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hayden to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hayden

The surname Hayden is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "heg" meaning "hay" and "denu" meaning "valley" or "hill". It is believed to have originated as a toponymic name, referring to someone who lived in or near a valley where hay was grown.

The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1182, where a person named William de Haydene is mentioned. The name was also found in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1279, with a reference to a William de la Hayden.

Hayden is a variant spelling of the place name Heydon, which can be found in various locations across England, such as Heydon in Norfolk, Heydon in Northamptonshire, and Heydon in Somerset. These place names likely derived from the Old English words "heg" and "dun", meaning "hay hill" or "hay valley".

Notable historical figures with the surname Hayden include Hob Hayden, a 16th-century outlaw and highwayman who was active in the area around Somerset and Gloucestershire. Sir John Hayden (c. 1470-1518) was a courtier and landowner from Dorset who served under King Henry VIII.

In the 17th century, John Hayden (1594-1627) was an English poet and clergyman known for his work "A Rebuke to the Censors of the Church of England". Gideon Hayden (1605-1692) was an early settler and landowner in Massachusetts, arriving in the American colonies in the 1630s.

The 19th century saw the birth of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (1828-1887), an American geologist and surveyor who explored the American West and is renowned for his contributions to the study of the region's geology and natural history.

These examples illustrate the long history and diverse backgrounds of individuals who have carried the surname Hayden throughout the centuries, originating from its English roots as a place name denoting a location where hay was grown or harvested.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hayden

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hayden.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hayden was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hayden has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hayden was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hayden, please contact us.

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