Hays
Hays is a boy's name that peaked in 2024, when it was the 4,200th most popular in the United States. In 2025 it ranked 5,399th. About 460 Hayses are alive in the United States today, and half of them are over 11.
Popularity, 1880–2025
girls named Hays boys named Hays
By the numbers
- Total US births
- 745
- Estimated living today
- 460
- Median age today
- 11
- Peak year
- 2024
- Best rank
- 4,200th
- Rank in 2025
- 5,399th
- First recorded
- 1880
- Girls / boys
- 5 / 740
How old the living Hayses are
born that year still alive today
Of the 745 babies given the name since 1880, about 460 are alive — 62 in every hundred. The dotted line is the median: half were born before 2014 and half after.
An estimate, not a count. SSA births aged forward through SSA cohort life tables, which know nothing about who left the country or arrived in it — so for a name that mostly came to America rather than being born in it, this is a floor rather than a figure. Where you fall among living Americans.
Where the name comes from
Spelling variant of Hayes, which has multiple origins.
Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where Hays is most common
Relative to how many babies each state records, Hays is most concentrated in Texas (12.0×).
Total births recorded in each state since 1910. Browse names by state.
Names of 2024
The most popular boys’ names the year Hays peaked:
Related names
Hays against another name
Two names on one chart, with the year one overtook the other.
Try it on yourself
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state baby-name files, 1880–2025. Counts include only births registered with the SSA, and names with fewer than five births in a year are not published. The living estimate applies SSA cohort life tables to those births; it counts people born in the United States, so it misses anyone who arrived later and anyone who has left.