Head to head · Boys' names
Ace vs Hayes
#164 vs #162 in 2025 · Latin vs Old English roots · both climbing the charts fast
Hayes is a whisker ahead (#162 vs #164 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Hayes leads 4 measures of 6; Ace leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Ace #725, Hayes #700 — Hayes higher
- 1890s: Ace #871, Hayes #773 — Hayes higher
- 1900s: Ace #991, Hayes #751 — Hayes higher
- 1910s: Ace #1563, Hayes #1002 — Hayes higher
- 1920s: Ace #1815, Hayes #1141 — Hayes higher
- 1930s: Ace #1725, Hayes #1242 — Hayes higher
- 1940s: Ace #1605, Hayes #1276 — Hayes higher
- 1950s: Ace #1891, Hayes #1573 — Hayes higher
- 1960s: Ace #2225, Hayes #2074 — Hayes higher
- 1970s: Ace #2142, Hayes #2134 — Hayes higher
- 1980s: Ace #1840, Hayes #2830 — Ace higher
- 1990s: Ace #2203, Hayes #2145 — Hayes higher
- 2000s: Ace #1344, Hayes #1404 — Ace higher
- 2010s: Ace #411, Hayes #558 — Ace higher
- 2020s: Ace #166, Hayes #203 — Ace higher
Hayes stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Ace has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ace | Hayes |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #725 | #700 |
| 1890s | #871 | #773 |
| 1900s | #991 | #751 |
| 1910s | #1563 | #1002 |
| 1920s | #1815 | #1141 |
| 1930s | #1725 | #1242 |
| 1940s | #1605 | #1276 |
| 1950s | #1891 | #1573 |
| 1960s | #2225 | #2074 |
| 1970s | #2142 | #2134 |
| 1980s | #1840 | #2830 |
| 1990s | #2203 | #2145 |
| 2000s | #1344 | #1404 |
| 2010s | #411 | #558 |
| 2020s | #166 | #203 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ace
the one on dice or cards; by extension, an expert
The English word comes through Old French from Latin 'as', a Roman coin and unit of one. A separate, much older road exists: Ace also appears as a medieval English given name of Norman origin, unrelated to the card sense.
as (Latin) → as (Old French) → ace (Middle English) → Ace
How it traveled
The word traveled from Latin 'as' — a single unit, a small Roman coin — into Old French as 'as', the one-spot on a die, and from there into Middle English. In card play its fortunes reversed: the lowest card came to outrank the king in game after game, which is roughly how 'ace' picked up its second life as a word for the best of something.
Hayes
"hedge, enclosure" (English) or "descendant of Aodh" (Irish)
Two well-documented origins share the spelling. The English Hayes is topographic, from Old English hæg, a hedge or fenced enclosure, used of people who lived by one. The Irish Hayes is an anglicization of Ó hAodha, from the personal name Aodh, meaning "fire" — the same root that produced the surname Hughes. Neither reading cancels the other; which one a family carries depends on where the family came from.
hæg (Old English) → atte Hay / de la Haye → Hayes
How it traveled
Both lines are surnames first. In medieval England, people recorded as atte Hay or de la Haye were identified by the hedge or enclosure they lived beside, and the name settled into Hayes.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Ace
AYSS
One syllable, rhyming with face. No regional variation to worry about, and almost no one needs to hear it twice.
- Acey — Informal extension used by family and friends; not a formal alternative.
- Ace — Also works the other way round — Ace has long served as an informal nickname for boys and men whose names begin with A, or whose initials spell it out.
Hayes
HAYZ
One syllable, rhyming with "days." The final s is voiced, like a z. Almost no one hesitates over it on first reading.
- Hay — The only natural clipping; used informally within families rather than as a standalone given name.
- H — Initial-as-nickname, common among schoolmates and teammates for one-syllable names.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ace if you want…
- a newer arrivalAce entered the US charts in 1882
Choose Hayes if you want…
- a name on the way upup 83 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordHayes was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Ace
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, spelled the way it sounds — rarely misheard, rarely misspelled, easy for a child to write early.
- A word already known to every English speaker, so it needs no explanation and no correction over the phone.
- Pairs cleanly with long or multi-syllable surnames, where a short first name carries well.
To consider
- It is a word before it is a name, and the word means 'the best'. Expect the pun — in sports, in report cards, in first introductions — for a lifetime. Some families like that; some find it a lot to hand over.
- There is no longer form to fall back on. A child who wants something more formal for a résumé or a signature has nowhere to retreat.
- Among younger people, 'ace' also circulates as shorthand for asexual, a meaning worth knowing about even though it rarely causes confusion with a name.
Hayes
Strengths
- One syllable and one obvious pronunciation — people say it right the first time and rarely ask again.
- A spelling already familiar to Americans as a surname, so it looks like a real name on a form rather than an invention.
- Two separate documented heritages, English and Irish, which lets a family claim whichever line is actually theirs.
To consider
- It is still read as a surname by many people, and Hayes as a first name is a recent American development. Expect the occasional assumption that it is your family name, especially from older generations.
- There is nowhere to go with it. Hayes is already as short as it gets, so a child who wants a nickname will have to invent one, and the closest option, Hay, doesn't do much.
- Hays, Haze and Hayes all sound identical aloud, so spelling it out over the phone will be a lifelong small habit.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Ace and Hayes in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Ace and Hayes?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Ace and Hayes — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ace or Hayes — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ace or Hayes?
- Hayes, in 2025: Hayes ranked #162 with 2,240 babies; Ace ranked #164 with 2,239 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ace or Hayes?
- Hayes. Over the last five years Ace moved up 35 places; Hayes moved up 83 places.
- Which is the older name, Ace or Hayes?
- Ace entered the US charts in 1882; Hayes was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Hayes is the older name.
- How many people are named Ace and Hayes?
- About 25,500 people named Ace are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 19,500 people named Hayes are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aces or Hayess in the classroom?
- Ace will almost certainly be the only one in school. Hayes will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Ace, Hayes and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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