2000
#1,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,485
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.48
Uncommon Last name
Haywood
From the English place name meaning "fenced wood" or referring to someone living near a hedged enclosure.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,250 Americans carry the last name Haywood. That puts it at #1,997 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,926 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haywood 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 Haywood with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,926
Census rank
#1,997
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,659 bearers of the surname Haywood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1997th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haywood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Haywood
The surname Haywood has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the Old English words "hæg" meaning "hay" and "wudu" meaning "wood," referring to a woodland where hay was grown or a clearing in a forest where hay was harvested.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century, and is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and property commissioned by William the Conqueror. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include Hugo de Haiawuda in Oxfordshire in 1176 and Radulfus de Heyewode in Staffordshire in 1203.
Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as Heywoode, Heywood, and Haywood. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of scribes or record keepers.
One notable bearer of the name was John Heywood (c. 1497-c. 1580), an English playwright and epigrammatist who served as a court musician and Player of the Virginals to King Henry VIII. His works included interludes, poems, and proverbs, and he is considered a significant figure in the development of English drama.
Another prominent individual was Eliza Haywood (c. 1693-1756), an English novelist and actress who is considered one of the most prolific writers of the early 18th century. She wrote several popular novels, including "Love in Excess" and "The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless," and was known for her frank depictions of female sexuality.
In the 19th century, Benjamin Haywood (1809-1886) was an American educator and historian who served as a teacher and principal in North Carolina. He authored several works on the history of the state, including "The Christian Advocate" and "The Raleigh Register."
Thomas Haywood (1768-1858) was a British portrait painter and miniaturist who worked in Liverpool and London. His portraits were highly sought after by the aristocracy and gentry of the time, and many of his works can be found in museum collections.
Sir Walter Haywood (1892-1988) was a British civil servant and diplomat who held various positions in the Foreign Office and served as Ambassador to Sweden from 1949 to 1954. He played a significant role in shaping British foreign policy during the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haywood
Among Census respondents with the surname Haywood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Haywood 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 Haywood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.6% · 8,413
- White42.2% · 7,457
- Two or more races5.4% · 945
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 685
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 74
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haywood
Haywood 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
#1,970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,360
+875 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 6.22
Rank movement Down 86 places
2020
#1,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,659
-701 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 5.91
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,884 | 17,485 | 6.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,970 | 18,360 | 6.22 | +875 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 86 places |
| 2020 | #1,997 | 17,659 | 5.91 | -701 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 27 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 Haywood 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 | #1,970 | #1,997 | -1.4% |
| Count | 18,360 | 17,659 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.22 | 5.91 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haywood bearers went from 18,360 to 17,659 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,970 to #1,997.
FAQ
Haywood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haywood?
Name Census estimates that about 20,250 living Americans carry the surname Haywood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,926 residents.
How common is Haywood?
Haywood ranks #1,997 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,659 people with the surname Haywood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,250), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Haywood.
Has Haywood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haywood went from 18,360 recorded bearers to 17,659. That is a decrease of 701 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,970 to #1,997.
What does the Census say about the background of Haywood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haywood, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Haywood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.6% (8,413 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haywood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.6%), White (42.2%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Haywood (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 Haywood mean?
From the English place name meaning "fenced wood" or referring to someone living near a hedged 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 Haywood (5.91 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 Haywood?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Haywood at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.