The name
Hazel, when it was first used, was a male name. Also, an example of a female
Hayes used in media that I found was
Hayes Morrison in the 2016 ABC show "Conviction". In 2020, 98 girls were named
Hayes. Also
Madison,
Avery,
Ashley,
Harper,
Addison,
Kennedy, etc...are all surnames that are used as girl given names. I don't see why
Hayes would be any different, especially with its close phonetic relations to
Hazel making it sound like a softer version with a cool spelling.
Hayes is less boring than old lady
Hazel. Maybe not traditionally, but today
Hayes is a gender-neutral given name (& surname)!!