Unisex name ★ peaked 2008

Hayden

Meaning hay Gender Unisex · 23% girls Rank 2025 #161 Trend ↑ Rising 11%

Originally a place name, from Old English heg (“hay”) + denu (“valley”).

Rank 2025
#161
among boys · ↓7 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,975
named Hayden · -5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 753
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2008
8,611 babies
All-time total
147,508
#284 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Hayden popularity over time

147,508 babies have been named Hayden since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 28 28 3 – #873
1890s – 73 73 7 +161% #665
1900s – 91 91 9 +25% #780
1910s – 487 487 49 +435% #643
1920s – 620 620 62 +27% #753
1930s – 418 418 42 -33% #876
1940s – 435 435 44 +4% #939
1950s – 339 339 34 -22% #1,056
1960s 6 325 331 33 -2% #1,240
1970s 97 446 543 54 +64% #1,131
1980s 223 1,006 1,229 123 +126% #648
1990s 1,570 16,350 17,920 1,792 +1358% #150
2000s 10,487 50,049 60,536 6,054 +238% #71
2010s 15,587 29,905 45,492 4,549 -25% #90
2020s (to 2025) 5,454 13,512 18,966 3,161 -31% #154

Where Hayden is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 2,307 1.35 #160
2027 2,341 1.37 #159
2028 2,370 1.39 #156
2029 2,395 1.40 #155
2030 2,416 1.41 #152

Where Hayden is most popular

Boys named Hayden per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.31 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, West Virginia, and Iowa.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Hayden born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 25 4.32 +229%
West Virginia 117 3.58 +173%
Iowa 245 3.55 +170%
North Dakota 56 3.28 +150%
Montana 55 3.12 +137%
South Dakota 55 2.96 +125%
Kentucky 296 2.95 +124%
New Hampshire 60 2.70 +106%
Alaska 32 2.69 +104%
Hawaii 41 2.64 +101%
Mississippi 137 2.41 +83%
Idaho 93 2.27 +73%
Arkansas 137 2.16 +65%
Rhode Island 35 2.15 +63%
Nebraska 93 2.14 +63%
Maine 41 2.11 +61%
Ohio 544 2.05 +56%
South Carolina 209 2.02 +54%
Louisiana 204 1.99 +52%
Oregon 150 1.98 +50%
Kansas 135 1.97 +50%
Missouri 269 1.94 +48%
Vermont 12 1.91 +45%
Wisconsin 223 1.88 +43%
Virginia 356 1.88 +43%
Alabama 203 1.86 +41%
Utah 176 1.84 +40%
Minnesota 223 1.82 +38%
Colorado 234 1.81 +38%
Pennsylvania 478 1.80 +37%
Indiana 288 1.80 +37%
Tennessee 323 1.79 +36%
North Carolina 430 1.68 +28%
Georgia 412 1.63 +24%
Washington 266 1.63 +24%
Michigan 327 1.60 +21%
Nevada 91 1.60 +21%
Oklahoma 141 1.59 +21%
Maryland 179 1.50 +14%
Arizona 227 1.39 +6%
Illinois 331 1.30 ≈ national
Massachusetts 178 1.29 ≈ national
Florida 587 1.24 -6%
Connecticut 81 1.20 -9%
Texas 972 1.10 -16%
Delaware 16 1.06 -20%
New Mexico 34 1.03 -22%
California 929 1.02 -23%
New York 385 0.889 -32%
New Jersey 175 0.869 -34%
District of Columbia – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Hayden

Hayden is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #161 in 2025 with 2,268 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 147,508 American babies have been named Hayden, about 77% boys and 23% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2008, when 8,611 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Hayden stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Hayden?

The median living Hayden is about 17 years old; half are between 10 and 22. An estimated 144 thousand people named Hayden are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Hayden year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each 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
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
1995 158 #1,122 1,895 #172
1990 42 #2,757 611 #379
1985 18 #4,329 80 #1,023
1980 10 #6,454 80 #1,013
1975 15 #4,218 40 #1,388
1970 6 #7,381 45 #1,242
1965 – – 31 #1,392
1960 – – 35 #1,348
1955 – – 24 #1,586
1950 – – 45 #1,056
1945 – – 38 #1,048
1940 – – 37 #1,077
1935 – – 52 #876
1930 – – 50 #963
1925 – – 62 #848
1920 – – 64 #848
1915 – – 67 #726
1910 – – 12 #952
1905 – – 10 #813
1900 – – 10 #871
1895 – – 7 #927
1890 – – 8 #778
1885 – – 6 #873
1880 – – 5 #973

Famous people named Hayden

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Hayden Panettiere Hayden Panettiere American actress and singer (1989–2026) Contemporary
  2. 2 Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen Canadian actor (born 1981) Contemporary
  3. 3 Hayden White Hayden White American historian 1928–2018 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Hayden Foxe Hayden Foxe Australian footballer b. 1977 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Hayden Roulston Hayden Roulston New Zealand cyclist (born 1981) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Hayden, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Hayden?

The median living Hayden is about 17 years old. Half of all living Haydens are between 10 and 22 years old.

How many people named Hayden are alive today?

An estimated 144 thousand people named Hayden are alive in the United States, based on 147,508 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Hayden mean?

Originally a place name, from Old English heg (“hay”) + denu (“valley”).

How popular is the name Hayden in 2025?

Hayden ranked #161 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,268 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Hayden?

147,508 babies have been named Hayden in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Hayden most popular?

Hayden peaked in 2008, when 8,611 newborns received the name.

Is Hayden a boy or girl name?

Hayden is used for both: about 23% of babies named Hayden have been girls and 77% boys.

Is the name Hayden rising or falling?

Hayden has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Hayden become more popular?

Hayden is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,416 boys named Hayden in 2030, which would rank around #152. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Hayden?

Well-known people named Hayden include Hayden Panettiere (actor), Hayden Christensen (actor), Hayden White (historian).

Names like Hayden

Names that sound and feel close to Hayden: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Hayden with similar names → More names starting with H →