Hazel is a primarily female given name meaning "hazel

Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...

", from the name of the tree or the color. It is derived from the Old English

Old English language

Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

 hæsel. It became a popular name in English-speaking

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 countries during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with other names of plants or trees used for girls.

The name was the 361st most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007, up from 465th most popular name for girls in 2006. It was last popular at the turn of the 20th century, when it was among the 25 most popular names for girls. It declined in usage in the United States after the 1960s, but has been rising in popularity since 1998. The name ranked at No. 138 in 1990 on a census of popular names for women of all ages in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It also was occasionally used for boys in the United States between 1900 and 1940. It was ranked as the 99th most popular name for girls born in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

in 2005.