# Hayes (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/hayes/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 194,246 |
| US rank (2010) | 127 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,589 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.6% (187,473 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /heɪz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Heyes |

## Etymology

*As an English locational surname, from Old English hæs (“brushwood”) (see hris) and Middle English hay (“enclosure”), heye. *As an Irish surname, from Ó hAodha (“descendant of Aodh”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hayes in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 69% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 25% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hayes in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Slovenia and Qatar.

## People named Hayes

- Helen Hayes, American actress (1900–1993)
- Isaac Hayes, American musician and actor (1942-2008)
- Sean Hayes, American actor (born 1970)
- Darren Hayes, Australian pop singer
- Johnny Hayes, American athlete (1886–1965)
- Elvin Hayes, American basketball player (born 1945)
- Bob Hayes, American football player and sprinter (1942–2003)
- Joanna Hayes, American sprint hurdler
- Patrick Joseph Hayes, (1867-1938) American cardinal and Archbishop of New York
- Allison Hayes, American actress (1930–1977)
- Jaxson Hayes, American basketball player (born 2000)
- George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor (1885-1969)

and 51 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Haas, Hays, Hawes, Haase, Hass, Haws, Hake, Hayashi, Hage, Hagy, Hause, Hasse.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.