2000
#964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,194
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.30
Uncommon Last name
Hays
Derived from Middle English, referring to a person who lived by or worked with a hedge or enclosure.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 37,857 Americans carry the last name Hays. That puts it at #1,046 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,054 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hays surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hays with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 9,054
Census rank
#1,046
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
33K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,013 bearers of the surname Hays in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1046th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hays, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hays
The surname HAYS is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "haeg," meaning "hedge." It was likely first used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a hedge or an enclosure made of hedges.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname HAYS or similar spellings, such as Haia, Haye, and Haies.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname HAYS is Walter de la Haye, who lived in Lincolnshire, England, in the 13th century. Another early bearer of the name was William del Hay, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219.
The surname HAYS is also associated with various place names in England, such as Hay in Wiltshire, Hay in Herefordshire, and Hayes in Middlesex. These place names likely contributed to the development and spread of the surname.
Notable individuals with the surname HAYS throughout history include:
1. John Hay (1838-1905), an American statesman and author who served as the United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
2. Mary Hayse (c. 1556-1610), an English Protestant martyr who was executed for her religious beliefs during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
3. Sir Edmund Hay (c. 1540-1591), a Scottish nobleman and Lord High Constable of Scotland during the reign of King James VI.
4. Ebenezer Hays (1751-1839), an American Revolutionary War soldier and one of the first settlers in the Ohio Country.
5. Alexander Hays (1819-1864), a Union Army general who fought in the American Civil War and was killed in action during the Battle of the Wilderness.
The surname HAYS has a long and rich history, with roots tracing back to medieval England and connections to various places and notable individuals throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hays
Among Census respondents with the surname Hays, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hays bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hays surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 29,083
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,346
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,106
- Black or African American3.2% · 1,042
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 239
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 197
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hays
Hays appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,021
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,191
+997 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 11.59
Rank movement Down 57 places
2020
#1,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,013
-1,178 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 11.04
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #964 | 33,194 | 12.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,021 | 34,191 | 11.59 | +997 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 57 places |
| 2020 | #1,046 | 33,013 | 11.04 | -1,178 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 25 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hays surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,021 | #1,046 | -2.4% |
| Count | 34,191 | 33,013 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 11.59 | 11.04 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hays bearers went from 34,191 to 33,013 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,021 to #1,046.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hays
FAQ
Hays surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hays?
Name Census estimates that about 37,857 living Americans carry the surname Hays. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,054 residents.
How common is Hays?
Hays ranks #1,046 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,013 people with the surname Hays. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (37,857), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Hays.
Has Hays become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hays went from 34,191 recorded bearers to 33,013. That is a decrease of 1,178 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,021 to #1,046.
What does the Census say about the background of Hays?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hays, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hays in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (29,083 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hays appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hays (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hays mean?
Derived from Middle English, referring to a person who lived by or worked with a hedge or enclosure. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hays (11.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Hays?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Hays at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.