Hayden

What Hayden means

Means “hay + valley”

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

Source: Wiktionary, “Hayden” (revision 89119512), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Hayden?

US: Steady: #150 in 2015, #161 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #158 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2006, when 6,470 boys got the name (#73 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 753 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,929 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 982 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (9.17 per 1,000 boys), IA (3.69 per 1,000 boys), KY (3.41 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Hayden is #161 in the US and #314 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 76.2% of US babies named Hayden were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Haiden149 US · 9 E&W
• Haddon44 US
• Haden30 US
• Haidyn23 US
• Heyden19 US
• Hadden12 US
• Haydon11 US
• Heiden8 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Hayden

Boys

• Peyton#683Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2007, with 3,375 babies; 398 in 2025
• Quinn#466“descendant of Chief”^*
• Riley#207“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Reese#602“ardor”^*
• Rohan#810“to ascend”^*
• Brady#321“broad + eye”^*

For a sister

• Hailey#104“hay + clearing”^*
• Makenna#593Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2005, with 1,619 babies; 495 in 2025
• Delaney#242“from the alder grove”^*
• Makenzie#700Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #210 in 2015, #700 in 2025
• Payton#440“enclosure; settlement, town”^*
• Kamryn#556Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Hayden’s. Rank is US 2025.