2000
#117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 187,473
First available Census row
Per 100,000 69.50
Common Last name
Hayes
An English and Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "hedged area" or "enclosure".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 213,801 Americans carry the last name Hayes. That puts it at #133 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 62.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,603 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hayes 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 Hayes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
214K
1 in 1,603
Census rank
#133
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
62.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
186K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 186,445 bearers of the surname Hayes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 62.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayes, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hayes
The surname Hayes is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "hæs," which means a hedge or enclosure. It first emerged in the 12th century as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a hedge or worked as a hedge-keeper.
The name is believed to have originated in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey, where it was prevalent in the early medieval period. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1195, where a Richard de la Haye is mentioned.
In the 13th century, the surname began to be spelled in various forms, including Haye, Heyes, and Hayes. The latter spelling became the most common form by the 14th century. The Hayes family was prominent in Gloucestershire, where they held estates in the village of Hayes near Bristol.
The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain the surname Hayes, but it does mention several places with similar names, such as Haye in Wiltshire and Haies in Essex, which may have been the locations where the name originated.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Hayes was Sir John Hayes (c. 1370-1428), a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire and a prominent landowner in the region. Another early figure was Sir James Hayes (c. 1450-1529), a courtier and ambassador during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII.
In the 16th century, the Hayes family gained prominence in Ireland, particularly in County Meath, where they settled after serving in the English armies during the Tudor conquests. One notable member was Sir John Hayes (1533-1607), an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, William Hayes (1608-1677) was a Puritan minister and one of the founding settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is considered an important figure in the early history of New England.
In the 18th century, Charles Hayes (1678-1760) was a prominent English mathematician and author, known for his work on the calculation of longitude and his contributions to the development of navigation methods.
The 19th century saw the rise of Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), the 19th President of the United States, who served from 1877 to 1881. He was a significant figure in the reconstruction era following the American Civil War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hayes
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayes, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hayes 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 Hayes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.9% · 124,809
- Black or African American24.0% · 44,683
- Two or more races4.5% · 8,432
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 5,995
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,378
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,148
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hayes
Hayes 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
#127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 194,246
+6,773 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 65.85
Rank movement Down 10 places
2020
#133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 186,445
-7,801 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 62.38
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117 | 187,473 | 69.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127 | 194,246 | 65.85 | +6,773 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 10 places |
| 2020 | #133 | 186,445 | 62.38 | -7,801 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 6 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 Hayes 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 | #127 | #133 | -4.7% |
| Count | 194,246 | 186,445 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 65.85 | 62.38 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hayes bearers went from 194,246 to 186,445 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #127 to #133.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hayes
FAQ
Hayes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hayes?
Name Census estimates that about 213,801 living Americans carry the surname Hayes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,603 residents.
How common is Hayes?
Hayes ranks #133 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 62.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 62 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 186,445 people with the surname Hayes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (213,801), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 62.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 62.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 62 of them to have the surname Hayes.
Has Hayes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hayes went from 194,246 recorded bearers to 186,445. That is a decrease of 7,801 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #127 to #133.
What does the Census say about the background of Hayes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hayes, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Hayes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.9% (124,809 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hayes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.9%), Black (24.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Hayes (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 Hayes mean?
An English and Irish surname derived from a place name meaning "hedged area" or "enclosure". 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 Hayes (62.38 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 Americans have the surname Hayes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.