How to say it
HAYES
/heɪz/
Masculine
Hayes
From the hedged enclosure
What it means
English surname from Old English hæg ('hedge, enclosure'). The 19th US president Rutherford B. Hayes is the political anchor; Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) is the modern one.
Hayes is an English surname from the Old English hæg ('hedge, enclosure'), describing someone who lived near a hedged or fenced area. The Hayes family name has been common in England and Ireland for centuries. Rutherford B. Hayes (19th US president, 1877-1881) is the political anchor. Sean Hayes (Will & Grace's Jack McFarland, 1998-2006) gave the surname comic-actor weight. The first-name usage is modern American: rare before 2000, then rising fast with the broader masculine surname-first wave. It entered the US top 500 in 2014 and continues to climb. Single syllable, no short.
Popularity over time
peaked at #160 in 2024, currently #162 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Singer Hayes Carll and actor Sean Hayes (Hayes as surname) are the modern English-language anchors.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Rutherford B. Hayes 19th US president, 1877-1881
- Sean Hayes American actor, Jack McFarland in Will & Grace
Spelling variants
- Hays
Names with the same feeling
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