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