Haya
Feminine · “life”
Haya is life in Hebrew and modesty in Arabic — two Semitic languages, two unrelated roots, and one spelling.
How old is the name Haya?
Haya first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Haya is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,700 people named Haya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Haya most popular?
Haya peaked in 2024, reaching #1823 nationally. Today it ranks #1911, 88 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From chai to Haya
The story of Haya
Chaya is a long-established Ashkenazi name and Haya its Israeli spelling. Separately, the Arabic haya names a virtue that a hadith calls a branch of faith. Both routes brought the name to America, where it appears in the registers and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
life; modesty
Two routes. The Hebrew chayah, 'living' or 'alive', from chai, 'life' — the same root as Chava, Eve. Or the Arabic haya, 'modesty' or 'bashfulness', a quality praised in Islamic ethics. The two roots are distinct and both names are genuine.
How the name formed
- chai
- chayah
- Haya
Related forms: חיה · حياء · Chaya
Pronouncing Haya
HY-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first. Hebrew Chaya begins with a throat sound English does not have.
Nicknames for Haya
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 2024110 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1823reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −8.2%101 in 2025, from 110
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Haya in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- חיה in Hebrew — transliteration
- حياء in Arabic — transliteration
- Chaya in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Hayas among us
people named Haya are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 15,914 born in 2025 was named Haya
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Chloee test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Haya's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Chloee climbed just as high around 2009, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Chloee's path sketches the road Haya is walking now.
Haya sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Haya is headed
Haya looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Haya beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Haya in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Both readings are positive — life in one language, modesty in the other.
- Two genuine living traditions can claim it.
- Four letters, two syllables, and never misheard in English.
- The two origins are unrelated despite both being Semitic.
- Chaya is the commoner Hebrew spelling.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Haya
Feminine · #1911 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hayas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Haya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Haya in 2025?
- Haya ranks #1911 among US girl names in 2025, with 101 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Haya?
- About 1 in every 15,914 US girls born in 2025 was named Haya — 101 in all.
- Will my child share the name Haya with classmates?
- Haya will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Haya
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Susie#1911 · Wesley#1911 · Carlee#1911 · Sahana#1911 · Chosen#1911 · Philomena#1911 · Valkyrie#1911 · Jazzlyn#1911
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Haya? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Haya and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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