An Irish, Scottish and English surname of Hayes came from the Gaelic name of 'Ó hAodha' which means a descendant of Aodh. This name Aodh means fire. The Middle English term of 'hay' refers to an enclosure. Adding the 's' and 'es' makes the surname Hayes plural in English and French.

Additional spellings for Hayes include Hease, Heyes, Hay, Heise, O’Hea and Highes.

In England the Hayes families are in London and then further north in Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire counties. Less popular is the Hayes surname in Scotland with those there mostly centered in Lanarkshire county.

In New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana are the Hayes families in the greatest numbers within the United States.

Famous: Catherine Hayes (19th century Irish opera signer), Rutherford B. Hayes (U. S. President), Isaac Israel Hayes (19th century explorer of the Arctic region), Vince Hayes (19th century English soccer player), George ‘Gabby’ Hayes (TV and Film actor), Helen Hayes (actress of film and theater), Isaac Hayes (singer), John Hayes (professional horse racer of Canada) and Mark Hayes (professional golfer).