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Hazle
How to Pronounce Hazle
Pronounced HAY-zuhl /ˈheɪ.zəl/Medium
Meaning: Hazle is Hazel with the last two letters transposed, from Old English hæsel, the hazel tree and nut; the same word gives the warm reddish-brown eye color. The metathesis is a common handwritten slip that stuck on some birth records.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Hazle is a transposed spelling of Hazel, the Old English tree name hæsel that also names a light golden-brown color. Nature names for girls flourished around the turn of the twentieth century, and clerks or parents occasionally flipped the -el to -le, fixing the variant in the record.
The spelling peaked in the mid-1920s alongside Hazel itself and then receded as flower-and-tree names went dormant. Hazel has since surged back as a vintage darling, but the Hazle spelling has not followed, so it reads as an old misspelling rather than a stylish revival.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Hazle mean?
Hazle is a transposed spelling of Hazel, from Old English for the hazel tree and its brown color.
How do you pronounce Hazle?
It's said HAY-zuhl /ˈheɪ.zəl/ — two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Hazle a boy or girl name?
Hazle is used as a girl's name, as a variant of Hazel.
How popular is Hazle?
Hazle was an early-twentieth-century spelling variant that stayed rare while Hazel later boomed.