Hayden
Hayden is a unisex name: 707 girls and 2,268 boys were given it in 2025 (#437 among girls’ names and #161 among boys’, #215 among all names counting both); 147,508 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 143,000 Americans named Hayden and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (97% of everyone recorded); the median is 18 years old and half are between 11 and 23.
Hayden came back: it left the boys’ top 1,000 after 1947 and returned in 1986.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Hayden by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Hayden mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Hayden is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “hay” (heg) and “valley” (denu).
Also “a female given name transferred from the surname, in general use since the 1990s.”
Originally a place name, from Old English heg (“hay”) + denu (“valley”). Alternatively, from Middle Dutch heiden (“heathen”).
/ˈheɪdn̩/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Hayden?
#161 among boys’ names, 2025
Hayden fell from #150 in 2015 to #161 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.4 to 1.3 per 1,000.
8,611 babies in 2008, the peak
Hayden peaked in 2008, when 8,611 babies were given it (5,949 boys, #76 among boys’ names). The 2,975 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 35% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 707 | #437 | 2,268 | #161 |
| 2024 | 789 | #402 | 2,341 | #154 |
| 2023 | 834 | #368 | 2,233 | #162 |
| 2022 | 937 | #344 | 2,303 | #162 |
| 2021 | 1,101 | #290 | 2,210 | #175 |
| 2020 | 1,086 | #298 | 2,157 | #177 |
| 2019 | 1,139 | #294 | 2,070 | #190 |
| 2018 | 1,250 | #262 | 2,183 | #180 |
| 2017 | 1,359 | #232 | 2,300 | #172 |
| 2016 | 1,577 | #206 | 2,394 | #168 |
Every recorded year (140)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,711 | #191 | 2,750 | #150 |
| 2014 | 1,668 | #201 | 2,891 | #140 |
| 2013 | 1,685 | #193 | 2,971 | #129 |
| 2012 | 1,614 | #197 | 3,547 | #109 |
| 2011 | 1,692 | #187 | 4,603 | #90 |
| 2010 | 1,892 | #162 | 4,196 | #96 |
| 2009 | 2,475 | #131 | 4,868 | #91 |
| 2008 | 2,662 | #127 | 5,949 | #76 |
| 2007 | 1,737 | #195 | 6,278 | #71 |
| 2006 | 761 | #418 | 6,470 | #73 |
| 2005 | 747 | #417 | 5,916 | #76 |
| 2004 | 483 | #582 | 5,019 | #87 |
| 2003 | 490 | #570 | 5,101 | #84 |
| 2002 | 419 | #610 | 4,142 | #96 |
| 2001 | 365 | #682 | 3,262 | #117 |
| 2000 | 348 | #685 | 3,044 | #129 |
| 1999 | 268 | #811 | 2,414 | #150 |
| 1998 | 254 | #837 | 2,143 | #160 |
| 1997 | 183 | #1,045 | 2,069 | #167 |
| 1996 | 183 | #1,021 | 2,015 | #168 |
| 1995 | 158 | #1,119 | 1,895 | #172 |
| 1994 | 153 | #1,158 | 1,792 | #176 |
| 1993 | 140 | #1,238 | 1,326 | #224 |
| 1992 | 112 | #1,435 | 1,159 | #249 |
| 1991 | 77 | #1,834 | 926 | #282 |
| 1990 | 42 | #2,752 | 611 | #379 |
| 1989 | 43 | #2,623 | 239 | #645 |
| 1988 | 36 | #2,887 | 115 | #892 |
| 1987 | 27 | #3,360 | 125 | #833 |
| 1986 | 25 | #3,481 | 89 | #974 |
| 1985 | 18 | #4,327 | 80 | #1,022 |
| 1984 | 15 | #4,808 | 70 | #1,070 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,575 | 63 | #1,135 |
| 1982 | 21 | #3,814 | 78 | #1,026 |
| 1981 | 16 | #4,602 | 67 | #1,116 |
| 1980 | 10 | #6,453 | 80 | #1,013 |
| 1979 | 14 | #4,917 | 63 | #1,131 |
| 1978 | 14 | #4,767 | 55 | #1,208 |
| 1977 | 13 | #5,027 | 48 | #1,295 |
| 1976 | 11 | #5,339 | 49 | #1,244 |
| 1975 | 15 | #4,216 | 40 | #1,388 |
| 1974 | 10 | #5,487 | 36 | #1,453 |
| 1973 | 8 | #6,279 | 42 | #1,281 |
| 1972 | under 5 | 29 | #1,618 | |
| 1971 | 6 | #7,712 | 39 | #1,361 |
| 1970 | 6 | #7,380 | 45 | #1,242 |
| 1969 | 6 | #6,927 | 41 | #1,240 |
| 1968 | under 5 | 32 | #1,377 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 29 | #1,423 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 24 | #1,599 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 31 | #1,391 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 37 | #1,295 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 28 | #1,494 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 38 | #1,262 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 30 | #1,477 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 35 | #1,347 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 45 | #1,161 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 30 | #1,429 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 25 | #1,601 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 37 | #1,268 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 24 | #1,585 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 36 | #1,253 | |
| 1953 | under 5 | 32 | #1,344 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 28 | #1,441 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 37 | #1,203 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 45 | #1,055 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 35 | #1,213 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 41 | #1,114 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 55 | #958 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 44 | #1,035 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 38 | #1,047 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 47 | #939 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 49 | #966 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 47 | #976 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 42 | #996 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 37 | #1,077 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 29 | #1,227 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 37 | #1,067 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 36 | #1,080 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 44 | #929 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 52 | #876 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 48 | #913 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 41 | #1,004 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 43 | #1,014 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 38 | #1,106 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 50 | #963 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 50 | #955 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 56 | #895 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 54 | #943 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 58 | #882 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 62 | #848 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 60 | #903 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 76 | #753 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 70 | #804 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 70 | #818 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 64 | #848 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 66 | #806 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 65 | #811 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 69 | #755 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 61 | #793 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 67 | #726 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 46 | #781 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 39 | #752 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 43 | #643 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 19 | #740 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 12 | #951 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 14 | #780 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 9 | #984 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 9 | #959 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 11 | #780 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 10 | #813 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 9 | #840 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 7 | #956 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 5 | #1,208 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 7 | #894 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 10 | #870 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 9 | #746 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 11 | #681 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 8 | #819 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 8 | #854 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 7 | #926 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 5 | #1,106 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 8 | #825 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 9 | #665 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 8 | #778 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 6 | #924 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 6 | #972 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 6 | #872 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 5 | #1,004 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 5 | #973 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Hayden a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 147,508 Americans recorded as Hayden, 23% are girls and 77% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Hayden: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Hayden, and how old are they?
143,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 97% of the 147,508 Americans ever recorded as Hayden. The median Hayden alive today is 18 years old; half are between 11 and 23.
The 2020 Census counted 118,666 people named Hayden (26,374 women and girls, 92,292 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 126,078 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 147 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 443 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 715 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 84,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 46,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Hayden born?
The states with the most babies named Hayden are Texas, California and Florida, with 22% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 257 | #196 | 0.9× |
| California | 213 | #225 | 0.6× |
| Florida | 166 | #161 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 144 | #133 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 133 | #146 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 121 | #136 | 1.1× |
| New York | 112 | #225 | 0.5× |
| Georgia | 99 | #160 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 98 | #127 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 90 | #199 | 0.7× |
Where Hayden is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Hayden is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Hayden with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 163,808 babies since 1880, Hayden is the most given (90% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,975 of their 3,270 babies (91%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Hayden
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Hayden and names like it
- Compare Hayden and HaidenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sHayden peaked in 2008.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Hayden since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Hayden: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2008The year the most babies were named Hayden.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Hayden alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with HMost given first.