Hays
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- HAYZ
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #5,397 for boys
Hays is a boys' name of English origin, meaning “hedged enclosure”. In 2025 it ranked 5,397th for boys in the US (17 babies).
What does Hays mean?
English: surname, a form of Hayes
“hedged enclosure”
Will Hays oversaw Hollywood's Production Code of the 1930s, often called the Hays Code.
Is Hays a girl's or a boy's name?
Hays is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 17 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Hays in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,397among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 17about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 7% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 17 boys in the US were named Hays, making it the 5,397th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,851st. Its busiest year was 2024, with 25 boys.
Half of all the boys named Hays in the US since 1880 were born between 1927 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 2,457 boys in the US were given Hays or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #165, up from #5,397 for this spelling alone.
Hays in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #5,397 |
| 2024 | 25 | #4,197 |
| 2023 | 16 | #5,661 |
| 2022 | 21 | #4,697 |
| 2021 | 23 | #4,358 |
| 2020 | 19 | #4,851 |
| 2019 | 17 | #5,336 |
| 2018 | 18 | #5,102 |
| 2017 | 20 | #4,742 |
| 2016 | 17 | #5,314 |
| 2015 | 16 | #5,503 |
| 2014 | 24 | #4,135 |
| 2013 | 9 | #8,113 |
| 2012 | 9 | #8,152 |
| 2011 | 15 | #5,670 |
| 2010 | 8 | #8,797 |
| 2009 | 10 | #7,687 |
| 2008 | 7 | #9,864 |
| 2007 | 10 | #7,586 |
| 2006 | 13 | #6,090 |
| 2005 | 9 | #7,633 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,514 |
| 2003 | 6 | #9,574 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,449 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 9 | #6,832 |
| 1999 | 5 | #9,905 |
| 1998 | 9 | #6,308 |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 6 | #7,785 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 6 | #6,934 |
| 1988 | 5 | #7,264 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 9 | #4,328 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 5 | #6,383 |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 5 | #4,983 |
| 1971 | 7 | #3,961 |
| 1970 | 5 | #4,722 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 5 | #4,135 |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 5 | #3,986 |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 7 | #3,255 |
| 1956 | 6 | #3,533 |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 6 | #3,328 |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 7 | #3,009 |
| 1947 | 5 | #3,731 |
| 1946 | 10 | #2,402 |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 5 | #3,428 |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 6 | #3,211 |
| 1941 | 5 | #3,504 |
| 1940 | 7 | #2,871 |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 6 | #3,174 |
| 1937 | 6 | #3,175 |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 11 | #2,213 |
| 1932 | 6 | #3,360 |
| 1931 | 8 | #2,863 |
| 1930 | 6 | #3,590 |
| 1929 | 8 | #2,978 |
| 1928 | 6 | #3,695 |
| 1927 | 9 | #2,911 |
| 1926 | 9 | #2,902 |
| 1925 | 9 | #2,934 |
| 1924 | 7 | #3,504 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,613 |
| 1922 | 11 | #2,629 |
| 1921 | 22 | #1,648 |
| 1920 | 13 | #2,335 |
| 1919 | 8 | #3,114 |
| 1918 | 11 | #2,542 |
| 1917 | 7 | #3,216 |
| 1916 | 24 | #1,415 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,069 |
| 1914 | 11 | #1,974 |
| 1913 | 9 | #1,944 |
| 1912 | 0 | – |
| 1911 | 0 | – |
| 1910 | 0 | – |
| 1909 | 0 | – |
| 1908 | 0 | – |
| 1907 | 0 | – |
| 1906 | 0 | – |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,232 |
| 1904 | 7 | #966 |
| 1903 | 0 | – |
| 1902 | 0 | – |
| 1901 | 0 | – |
| 1900 | 0 | – |
| 1899 | 0 | – |
| 1898 | 0 | – |
| 1897 | 0 | – |
| 1896 | 0 | – |
| 1895 | 0 | – |
| 1894 | 0 | – |
| 1893 | 0 | – |
| 1892 | 0 | – |
| 1891 | 0 | – |
| 1890 | 0 | – |
| 1889 | 0 | – |
| 1888 | 0 | – |
| 1887 | 0 | – |
| 1886 | 0 | – |
| 1885 | 0 | – |
| 1884 | 0 | – |
| 1883 | 0 | – |
| 1882 | 0 | – |
| 1881 | 0 | – |
| 1880 | 5 | #909 |
Names like Hays
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Banks King Ford Hudson Miller Harrison Hollis Emerson Henry Lawson Silas Walker
Other spellings of Hays
More English names
Lily Evelyn Ivy Harper Grace Violet Willow Daisy Poppy Riley Oakley Mason Cooper Ruby Hallie Hazel
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Hays: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/hays, updated 20 October 2026.