Hazel
Light brown to reddish-brown eye color or a literary reference to hazelnut.
Roughly 97,385 people in the United States go by the first name Hazel, which ranks #19 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. It is a predominantly female name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Hazel today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hazel births was 1918 (7,680 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Lincoln (97,249).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hazel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hazel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Hazel is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 2,865 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
97K
~ 1 in 3,520 Americans
Peak year
1918
7,680 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#19
Tracked since 1880
Census
Hazel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 80,464 people with the first name Hazel, which placed it at #660 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#660
National first-name rank
People counted
80K
80,464 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
26.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hazel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hazel is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hazel 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hazel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.4% · 51,826
- Black or African American14.4% · 11,547
- Hispanic or Latino11.8% · 9,462
- Two or more races4.3% · 3,468
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 3,452
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 709
Gender
Gender distribution for Hazel
Out of the 299,063 babies given the name Hazel since 1880, 99.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Hazel as a male name
- Ranked #2,837 in 2024
- 45 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1916 (79 births)
Hazel as a female name
- Ranked #19 in 2024
- 6,401 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (7,615 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hazel appears almost entirely female. Of the 80,463 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Hazel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hazel from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 59,627 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Hazel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hazel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hazel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hazels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the most babies named Hazel, while Alaska, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,832 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hazel
The name Hazel has its origins rooted in the Old English language, dating back to the Middle Ages. Derived from the word "haesl," it initially referred to the hazel tree, a type of deciduous tree often found in temperate regions of Europe and North America. The hazel tree held significance in ancient European cultures, with its nuts being a valuable food source and its wood utilized for various purposes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hazel can be traced back to the 13th century in England. During this period, it was not uncommon for individuals to adopt surnames or descriptive names based on their environment, occupation, or physical characteristics. The name Hazel likely emerged as a way to identify those who lived near hazel trees or worked with hazel wood.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Hazel. Hazel Dorothy Scott (1920-1981) was an esteemed American jazz and classical pianist, composer, and educator. She is renowned for her performances at the Café Society in New York City, where she gained recognition for her virtuosity and advocacy for racial equality in the music industry.
Hazel Keyes (1934-2008) was a pioneering American engineer and physicist. She made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics, particularly in the development of nuclear instrumentation and radiation detection equipment. Her work at the University of Wisconsin and the Argonne National Laboratory earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers Award.
Hazel McCallion (1921-2023) was a Canadian politician who served as the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, for an impressive 36 years, from 1978 to 2014. Known as "Hurricane Hazel," she was renowned for her tireless work ethic, no-nonsense approach, and dedication to her community. Her legacy as one of Canada's longest-serving mayors cemented her place in the country's political history.
Hazel Hall (1835-1924) was an American poet and writer during the 19th century. Born in Vermont, she published several volumes of poetry, including "Waves of Praise," "Footprints on New England Roads," and "Sketchings from Nature." Her works often celebrated nature and rural life, reflecting her deep connection to the New England landscape.
Hazel Grace Lancaster, a fictional character from the novel "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green, has also contributed to the name's popularity in recent times. Her portrayal as a witty and courageous teenager battling cancer resonated with readers worldwide, further solidifying the name's association with strength and resilience.
People
Hazel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hazel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hazel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hazel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97,385 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hazel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,520 US residents.
Is Hazel a common name?
We classify Hazel as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 299,063 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hazel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hazel was 1918, when 7,680 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hazel is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hazel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 80,464 people with the name Hazel, or 26.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #660 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hazel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hazel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hazel appears almost entirely female. Of the 80,463 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hazel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hazel is White at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hazel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hazel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.4% (51,826 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hazel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hazel a female name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Hazel in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hazel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hazel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hazel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Hazel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.