Hazel

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled הייזל in IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Hazel is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name140K records spelled Hazel10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Philippines, Costa Rica, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Hâžël, Hãzël, Häzël, Håzël, Hazęl

• Turkish given name37K records spelled Hazel5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Philippines, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani

  Also written Hâzel, Hâzël, Häźëĺ

• Polish given name9.2K records spelled Hazel18 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Bulgaria, United States, Poland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Bulgarian, Russian

  Also written Хазел, Хейзел, Хэйзел, Häzêl, Хеизел

• Thai given name2.7K records spelled Hazel17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Philippines, United Kingdom

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Hazell, Heşel, เฮเซล, ฮาเซล, Heşen

• Greek given name2.5K records spelled Hazel2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Also written Χειζελ

57 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Hazel is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, dweller by the hazel; from OE hæsel or ON hesli; first attested Alured del Hesel c1182 MELS (Wo)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Tree name, apparently invented in the 19th century; used intermittently in Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In French, English name from the hazel tree, symbol of wisdom.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, topographic name for someone who lived near a hazelnut tree or grove. Middle English hasel, hesel, or perhaps a habitational name from a minor place named with this word such as Heazille Barton or Heazle Farm in Devon, or from Hessle in East Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, both named from Old English hcesel ‘hazel’ (influenced by Old Norse hesli).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• From the vocabulary word denoting the tree (Old English hzsel), or its light reddish-brown nuts. This is one of the most successful of the names coined in the 19th century from words denoting plants. The fact that it also denotes an eye colour may have been a factor in its continuing popularity.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Hazel Hotchkiss Wightmanb. 1886USUS tennis and badminton player (1886–1974)
• Hazel Hempel Abelb. 1888USAmerican politician (1888-1966)
• Wanda Gágb. 1893USnot in their usual nameAmerican artist and children's writer (1893-1946)
• Hazel Scottb. 1920USAmerican musician (1920-1981)
• Hazel McCallionb. 1921CACanadian politician (1921–2023)
• Hazel Brooksb. 1924USAmerican actress (1924-2002)
• Hazel Courtb. 1926GBEnglish actress (1926–2008)
• Hazel R. O'Learyb. 1937USPolitician, lawyer
• Hazel O'Connorb. 1955GBEnglish singer-songwriter and actress
• Hazel Blearsb. 1956GBBritish politician (born 1956)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 964 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Hazel?

We estimate roughly 87 thousand people bear Hazel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Hazel have the most bearers?

Hazel is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled hazel.

Where is Hazel most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Hazel is densest in Costa Rica — about 1 in 927 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Hazel compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Hazel is the 294th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Hazel a male or female name?

Hazel is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Hazel mean?

Recorded meaning: Person who lives by a hazel tree or grove.