2000
#878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,024
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.35
Uncommon Last name
Hayden
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "hay valley" or "hay hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 41,103 Americans carry the last name Hayden. That puts it at #959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,339 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hayden surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hayden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
41K
1 in 8,339
Census rank
#959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
36K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 35,844 bearers of the surname Hayden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayden, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hayden
The surname Hayden is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "heg" meaning "hay" and "denu" meaning "valley" or "hill". It is believed to have originated as a toponymic name, referring to someone who lived in or near a valley where hay was grown.
The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1182, where a person named William de Haydene is mentioned. The name was also found in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1279, with a reference to a William de la Hayden.
Hayden is a variant spelling of the place name Heydon, which can be found in various locations across England, such as Heydon in Norfolk, Heydon in Northamptonshire, and Heydon in Somerset. These place names likely derived from the Old English words "heg" and "dun", meaning "hay hill" or "hay valley".
Notable historical figures with the surname Hayden include Hob Hayden, a 16th-century outlaw and highwayman who was active in the area around Somerset and Gloucestershire. Sir John Hayden (c. 1470-1518) was a courtier and landowner from Dorset who served under King Henry VIII.
In the 17th century, John Hayden (1594-1627) was an English poet and clergyman known for his work "A Rebuke to the Censors of the Church of England". Gideon Hayden (1605-1692) was an early settler and landowner in Massachusetts, arriving in the American colonies in the 1630s.
The 19th century saw the birth of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (1828-1887), an American geologist and surveyor who explored the American West and is renowned for his contributions to the study of the region's geology and natural history.
These examples illustrate the long history and diverse backgrounds of individuals who have carried the surname Hayden throughout the centuries, originating from its English roots as a place name denoting a location where hay was grown or harvested.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayden
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayden, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hayden bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hayden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 28,111
- Black or African American13.2% · 4,740
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,520
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 1,058
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 293
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 122
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hayden
Hayden appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,451
+1,427 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 12.70
Rank movement Down 52 places
2020
#959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,844
-1,607 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 11.99
Rank movement Down 29 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #878 | 36,024 | 13.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #930 | 37,451 | 12.70 | +1,427 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 52 places |
| 2020 | #959 | 35,844 | 11.99 | -1,607 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 29 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hayden surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #930 | #959 | -3.1% |
| Count | 37,451 | 35,844 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 12.70 | 11.99 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hayden bearers went from 37,451 to 35,844 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 29 positions in the national ranking, going from #930 to #959.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hayden
FAQ
Hayden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hayden?
Name Census estimates that about 41,103 living Americans carry the surname Hayden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,339 residents.
How common is Hayden?
Hayden ranks #959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 35,844 people with the surname Hayden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (41,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Hayden.
Has Hayden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hayden went from 37,451 recorded bearers to 35,844. That is a decrease of 1,607 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #930 to #959.
What does the Census say about the background of Hayden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayden, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hayden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (28,111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hayden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.4%), Black (13.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hayden (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hayden mean?
An English surname derived from a place name meaning "hay valley" or "hay hill" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hayden (11.99 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Hayden?
Find out how many people are called Hayden on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.