Hayden, a surname-turned-given-name, is derived from the Old English element heg, meaning "hay" combined with denu, meaning "valley," or dun, meaning "hill." Together, it either translates to "hay valley" or "hay hill." Hayden was popular in the early 1900s before falling off the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 for boy names in the late-1940s. It made its triumphant return to the list in 1986 and was a top-100 boy's name every year between 2002 and 2011. Hayden has also been listed in the top 1,000 for girl names every year since 1998. It's the name Bachelor Nation alum Ashley Iaconetti gave her son Hayden Cruse, born in 2024, as well as the name "Grey's Anatomy" star Camilla Luddington chose for her daughter Hayden, born in 2017.
