| Blake | Hayden | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | black OR pale — genuinely opposite meanings | Hay valley |
| Origin | english | English |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Pronunciation | BLAYK | HAY-den |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1883 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2012 (6,047) | 2006 (6,470) |
| In 2025 | 1,080 | 2,268 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Blake | Hayden |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 9,021 | 13,512 |
| 2010s | 41,721 | 29,905 |
| 2000s | 50,109 | 50,049 |
| 1990s | 45,873 | 16,350 |
| 1980s | 25,398 | 1,006 |
| 1970s | 5,443 | 446 |
| 1960s | 4,721 | 325 |
| 1950s | 2,594 | 339 |
| 1940s | 583 | 435 |
| 1930s | 320 | 418 |
| 1920s | 414 | 620 |
| 1910s | 260 | 487 |
| 1900s | 45 | 91 |
| 1890s | 37 | 73 |
| 1880s | 19 | 28 |
From two Old English words that fell together in Middle English: 'blaec' meaning 'black, dark' and 'blac' meaning 'pale, fair'. This produces a true opposite-meaning dispute, and for any given bearer it is usually impossible to tell which sense was meant.
Hayden comes from an English surname and place name meaning “hay hill” or “hay valley.” It is used for both boys and girls.
Hayden is more popular than Blake today: about 2,268 US babies were given the name Hayden in 2025, compared with 1,080 named Blake.
Blake means black OR pale — genuinely opposite meanings (english origin), while Hayden means Hay valley (English origin).
In US records, Blake first appears in 1883 and Hayden in 1880, so Hayden has the longer recorded history.