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

Hayes, 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 Hayes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hayes in America

Hayes is the 127th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hayes surname appeared 194,246 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 66 people would have the surname Hayes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hayes 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 Hayes

The surname Hayes is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "hæs," which means a hedge or enclosure. It first emerged in the 12th century as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a hedge or worked as a hedge-keeper.

The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey, where it was prevalent in the early medieval period. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1195, where a Richard de la Haye is mentioned.

In the 13th century, the surname began to be spelled in various forms, including Haye, Heyes, and Hayes. The latter spelling became the most common form by the 14th century. The Hayes family was prominent in Gloucestershire, where they held estates in the village of Hayes near Bristol.

The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain the surname Hayes, but it does mention several places with similar names, such as Haye in Wiltshire and Haies in Essex, which may have been the locations where the name originated.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Hayes was Sir John Hayes (c. 1370-1428), a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire and a prominent landowner in the region. Another early figure was Sir James Hayes (c. 1450-1529), a courtier and ambassador during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII.

In the 16th century, the Hayes family gained prominence in Ireland, particularly in County Meath, where they settled after serving in the English armies during the Tudor conquests. One notable member was Sir John Hayes (1533-1607), an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, William Hayes (1608-1677) was a Puritan minister and one of the founding settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is considered an important figure in the early history of New England.

In the 18th century, Charles Hayes (1678-1760) was a prominent English mathematician and author, known for his work on the calculation of longitude and his contributions to the development of navigation methods.

The 19th century saw the rise of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), the 19th President of the United States, who served from 1877 to 1881. He was a significant figure in the reconstruction era following the American Civil War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hayes

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

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 Hayes 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 Hayes 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 Hayes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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