Head to head · Boys' names
Hayden vs Ivan
#161 vs #162 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Hayden is a whisker ahead (#161 vs #162 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. 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, Hayden leads 4 measures of 6; Ivan leads 1.
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: Hayden #897, Ivan #321 — Ivan higher
- 1890s: Hayden #785, Ivan #231 — Ivan higher
- 1900s: Hayden #872, Ivan #211 — Ivan higher
- 1910s: Hayden #769, Ivan #188 — Ivan higher
- 1920s: Hayden #861, Ivan #185 — Ivan higher
- 1930s: Hayden #1012, Ivan #213 — Ivan higher
- 1940s: Hayden #1025, Ivan #281 — Ivan higher
- 1950s: Hayden #1324, Ivan #316 — Ivan higher
- 1960s: Hayden #1381, Ivan #302 — Ivan higher
- 1970s: Hayden #1314, Ivan #279 — Ivan higher
- 1980s: Hayden #971, Ivan #218 — Ivan higher
- 1990s: Hayden #213, Ivan #162 — Ivan higher
- 2000s: Hayden #90, Ivan #132 — Hayden higher
- 2010s: Hayden #142, Ivan #133 — Ivan higher
- 2020s: Hayden #165, Ivan #158 — Ivan higher
Ivan stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Ivan has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hayden | Ivan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #897 | #321 |
| 1890s | #785 | #231 |
| 1900s | #872 | #211 |
| 1910s | #769 | #188 |
| 1920s | #861 | #185 |
| 1930s | #1012 | #213 |
| 1940s | #1025 | #281 |
| 1950s | #1324 | #316 |
| 1960s | #1381 | #302 |
| 1970s | #1314 | #279 |
| 1980s | #971 | #218 |
| 1990s | #213 | #162 |
| 2000s | #90 | #132 |
| 2010s | #142 | #133 |
| 2020s | #165 | #158 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Hayden
- Canada#96
Ivan
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Hayden
'hay valley' or 'hay hill' (Old English)
The English surname traces to places named Haydon or Hayden, from Old English hēg 'hay' joined either to denu 'valley' or dūn 'hill' — the two readings differ by which place the family came from. Separately, Hayden serves as the anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉideáin, so some Haydens descend from an Irish family name rather than an English field.
Old English hēg-dūn / hēg-denu → Haydon (English place name) → Hayden (English and Irish surname) → Hayden (given name)
How it traveled
The English root is topographical: villages and farms called Haydon or Hayden in counties such as Northumberland, Dorset and Somerset, named for hay ground on a hill or in a valley, gave their names to the families who held or left them. Those families carried the surname to Ireland and across the Atlantic, where Hayden also absorbed Irish bearers anglicizing Ó hÉideáin.
Ivan
God is gracious
From the Hebrew name meaning God has been gracious, through Greek and Church Slavonic. The Slavic languages took it from the Byzantine form rather than the Latin one, which is why it begins with a vowel where the western forms begin with a consonant.
Yohanan → Ioannes → Ivan
How it traveled
Russian folk tales keep giving the kingdom to the youngest of three brothers, and they call him the fool. Ivan the Fool lies on the stove, does no work, is despised by his clever brothers, and then succeeds at the impossible task because he is kind to an animal or an old woman the others ignored.
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
Hayden
HAY-din
Stress on the first syllable. The second is often reduced to little more than HAY-dn. One pronunciation across English-speaking countries, and it reads correctly on sight.
- Hayd — The usual clipping among friends and teammates; almost never written down.
- Hay — Informal family shortening, mostly used by parents and siblings.
- H — Initial-only nickname common in American school and sports settings.
Ivan
ee-VAHN
Two syllables with the stress at the back in Russian and in Spanish. American English often says EYE-vun instead, which is a noticeably different name.
- Vanya — The standard Russian familiar form, used for men of any age by family and friends.
- Van — The back of the name, and a short form that travels easily in English.
Who has carried each name
Hayden
Hayden Christensen (b. 1981) — Star Wars' Anakin Skywalker
Ivan
Ivan Pavlov (b. 1849) — The scientist of Pavlov's dogs
Ivan Turgenev (b. 1818) — Wrote Fathers and Sons
Ivan the Terrible (b. 1530) — The first tsar of Russia
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Hayden if you want…
- a name on the way upup 16 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooHayden is on the national lists of Canada
Choose Ivan if you want…
- a name holding steadyIvan is holding its place on the charts
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
Hayden
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds: a reader who has never met the name will get it right first try.
- Works on the page for a boy or a girl, since it comes from a surname rather than from either tradition of given names.
- Unbroken presence on the American record from the very beginning of that record to now — familiar to every generation without belonging to one.
To consider
- It sits inside a very crowded sound family — Aiden, Jayden, Caden, Braden. A Hayden may rarely meet another Hayden, but will likely share a classroom rhyme with several children.
- Haydon, Haden and Haydn all exist, so expect an occasional correction on forms and email addresses.
- Most Haydens are boys, so a girl named Hayden will sometimes be assumed male on paperwork before anyone meets her — easy to correct, but worth knowing it will happen.
Ivan
Strengths
- It is a standing name in a dozen languages rather than an invention.
- The meaning is documented and the descent is unbroken.
- It works in Russian, Spanish and English households without adjustment.
To consider
- The English and Slavic readings move the stress, so the name is said two ways.
- Iven and Ivon will both be written for it.
- The record holds this spelling for daughters as well, though almost never.
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 Hayden and Ivan 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 Hayden and Ivan?
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 these names appear on
- One-decade wonders
- Y2K names: the class of the 2000s
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- Names ending in -en / -an / -on
- all guides
Where Hayden and Ivan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hayden or Ivan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hayden or Ivan?
- Hayden, in 2025: Hayden ranked #161 with 2,268 babies; Ivan ranked #162 with 2,240 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hayden or Ivan?
- Hayden. Over the last five years Hayden moved up 16 places; Ivan moved down 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Hayden or Ivan?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Hayden and Ivan?
- About 111,000 people named Hayden are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 124,000 people named Ivan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Haydens or Ivans in the classroom?
- Hayden will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ivan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. 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 Hayden, Ivan and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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