ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1918 Peak Year #18 Peak Rank 309K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Hazel What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Hazel is a primarily female given name meaning "hazel", from the name of the tree or the color. It is derived from the Old English hæsel. It became a popular name in English-speaking countries during the 19th century, along with other names of plants or trees used for girls. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel%5F%28given%5Fname%29) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Hazel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Morgan_-_nutting.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Hazel Hazel first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 21 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1918, when 7,615 Hazels were born — ranking #33 that year. As of 2026, Hazel ranks #19 for baby girls with 6,585 births, rising sharply (+18% over the past five years). In total, more than 309K Hazels have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Hazel A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Hazel Adair (novelist) (real name H. I. Addis; 1900–1990), British novelist * ●Hazel Adair (screenwriter) (1920–2015), English actress and screenwriter * ●Hazel Ascot (born 1928), English child actress * ●Hazel Ong'ayo Ayanga (born 1952), Kenyan theologian * ●Hazel Bishop (1906–1998), American chemist and founder of a cosmetics company * ●Hazel Blears (born 1956), British politician * ●Hazel Brooks (1924–2002), American actress * ●Hazel Brown (1942–2022), Trinbagonian women's and consumer rights activist Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Hazel Phonetically similar names — useful when Hazel is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Hazle](/hazle) * [Hazell](/hazell) * Hosel * Hustle * Hassle * Hussle * [Hassel](/hassel) * Haza * [Hassell](/hassell) * Hazels * [Hessel](/hessel) * Hatel Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Hazel What does the name Hazel mean? Hazel is a primarily female given name meaning "hazel", from the name of the tree or the color. It is derived from the Old English hæsel. It became a popular name in English-speaking countries during the 19th century, along with other names of plants or trees used for girls. How popular is Hazel in 2026? In 2026, Hazel ranks #19 among girls' names in the U.S., with 6,585 babies given the name that year. When was Hazel most popular? Hazel reached its peak popularity in 1918, ranking #18 that year with 7,615 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Hazel most popular? Hazel has historically been most popular in North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Hazel. Is Hazel a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Hazel is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Hazel? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Hazel include Catherine, Teresa, Tina. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧CatherinePeak #18](/catherine)[👧TeresaPeak #18](/teresa)[👧TinaPeak #18](/tina)[👧JamiePeak #18](/jamie)[👧ErinPeak #18](/erin)[👧LouisePeak #17](/louise)[👧LoisPeak #17](/lois)[👧CourtneyPeak #17](/courtney) ## About the name Hazel Hazel is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 309K births in the dataset. Hazel's peak popularity came in 1918 when it ranked #18\. Use the chart and map above to compare Hazel's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1918 → ](/year/1918) * [ Names of the 1910s → ](/decade/1910s) * [ Names starting with "H" → ](/letter/h) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.