Gender: Girl
Meaning: The hazel tree; the hazelnut
Origin: Old English hæsel — a nature name for the hazel tree, long associated with wisdom and protection
Popularity: Ranked #19 in 2024 with 6,401 babies born.
History: Hazel is a nature name with Old English roots — the hazel tree was considered magical in Celtic tradition, a source of wisdom and poetic inspiration. The name was popular in the early 20th century, then faded almost entirely through the mid-century. Its revival began slowly in the 2000s and accelerated dramatically after John Green's novel The Fault in Our Stars (2012) featured a beloved protagonist named Hazel Grace Lancaster. The name has been in the U.S. top 30 since 2015 and carries a warm, bookish, slightly whimsical charm.
Famous people named Hazel: Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars), Hazel Scott (musician)
Name length: 5 letters
How common is Hazel? About 1 in 516 babies born in 2024 were named Hazel, or roughly 17.7 per day in the United States.
Explore more baby names at BabyNa.me — 29,000+ names with meanings, origins, and popularity trends.