Given name & surname
Hayes
“from the hedged valley”·“from the hedged place”
Hayes is a variant of Hayden. One English interpretation is “from the hedged valley.” Hayes is a variant of Hawes. One English interpretation is “from the hedged place.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Hayes is a variant of Hayden. One English interpretation is “from the hedged valley.” Hayes is a variant of Hawes. One English interpretation is “from the hedged place.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Hayes is a variant of Hayden. An origin associated with Hayden is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Old English hæs (“brushwood”), from Middle English hay (“enclosure”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hayes through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 21,886
- 20,925 boys · 961 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 2,327 babies
- 2025
- 2,327
- #162 for boys · #2,143 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +86%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,240 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 162 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 89.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 87 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (236). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,856 as a first name in 2020; 186,445 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hayes’s family of names
Hayes has a related form in Hayden. Hayes has a related form in Hawes. In English usage, Hayes continues an earlier form in Hay.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hayes
- Hayes JonesAmerican athletics competitor (born 1938)
- Hayes Alan JenkinsUnited States figure skaterborn 1933
- Hayes MacArthurAmerican stand-up comedian, actor and writerborn 1977
- Hayes GordonAmerican actor (1920-1999)
- Hayes CarllAmerican musicianborn 1976
- Hayes Alvismusician (1907-1972)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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