A 1900s favorite, climbing again.
Popularity of Hays since 1880
Babies named Hays per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 2024, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Hays's real moment was 1904.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 |
| 1890s | 0 |
| 1900s | 12 |
| 1910s | 83 |
| 1920s | 105 |
| 1930s | 43 |
| 1940s | 45 |
| 1950s | 24 |
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 17 |
| 1980s | 25 |
| 1990s | 20 |
| 2000s | 82 |
| 2010s | 153 |
| 2020s | 121 |
Meaning & origin
Hays is a rare English surname-turned-given name with a straightforward meaning tied to landscape features. First recorded in 1880, it peaked in 1904 before declining steeply; but beginning around 1993 it has been slowly rising again. In the latest data (2025), it ranks 5,399 and occurs at a rate of 1 in 100,475 births. The name has no strong regional concentration in the United States (no top states recorded). Its revival aligns with a broader trend of using crisp, one-syllable surname names for boys. Parents drawn to Hays may also consider the related variant Hayes, which has become more common. The name offers a clean, professional sound with a hint of Southern gentility.
Hays is an English surname turned given name. It is typically a patronymic form of Hayes, which itself comes from a place name meaning 'hedge' or 'enclosure' in Old English. As a first name, it saw modest use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fell out of common use, and has been rising again since the 1990s.
Nicknames & variants
Variants: Hayes
Sibling names for Hays
Names that share Hays's style, for a brother or sister.
