# Hugh (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/hugh/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “heart”, “mind”, “spirit”, “intellect” |
| Pronunciation | /hjuː/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Huey, Hughie |
| Variant spellings | Hugo |
| US babies named this | 84,179 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 83,825 / 354 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,287, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From the Old French aristocratic and saint's name Hughe, brought to England by Normans, from a short form of Germanic names beginning with Proto-Germanic *hugiz (“heart, mind”), such as Hubert. Cognate with Old English hyġe (“mind, spirit, intellect”). More at high, how.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1934 | 9 | 3,017 |
| 1935 | 12 | 2,486 |
| 1936 | 6 | 3,897 |
| 1937 | 5 | 4,525 |
| 1938 | 9 | 3,026 |
| 1939 | 6 | 3,969 |
| 1941 | 6 | 4,154 |
| 1942 | 6 | 4,318 |
| 1944 | 9 | 3,227 |
| 1950 | 5 | 5,607 |
| 1953 | 5 | 6,014 |
| 1958 | 5 | 6,448 |
| 1959 | 5 | 6,615 |
| 1968 | 9 | 4,902 |
| 1985 | 5 | 11,268 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 210 | 946 |
| 2012 | 220 | 930 |
| 2013 | 227 | 915 |
| 2014 | 255 | 866 |
| 2015 | 265 | 848 |
| 2016 | 264 | 850 |
| 2017 | 264 | 838 |
| 2018 | 281 | 806 |
| 2019 | 287 | 799 |
| 2020 | 324 | 749 |
| 2021 | 343 | 742 |
| 2022 | 312 | 804 |
| 2023 | 323 | 785 |
| 2024 | 333 | 762 |
| 2025 | 360 | 732 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 124 | 349 |
| 2012 | 103 | 398 |
| 2013 | 100 | 407 |
| 2014 | 121 | 352 |
| 2015 | 133 | 346 |
| 2016 | 136 | 344 |
| 2017 | 133 | 355 |
| 2018 | 121 | 373 |
| 2019 | 115 | 381 |
| 2020 | 111 | 384 |
| 2021 | 97 | 431 |
| 2022 | 96 | 427 |
| 2023 | 94 | 417 |
| 2024 | 78 | 500 |
| 2025 | 73 | 529 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Հուգո
- Bulgarian: Хю
- Catalan: Hug
- Chinese: 休
- Czech: Hugo
- Danish: Hugo
- Esperanto: Hugo
- Finnish: Huugo
- French: Hugues
- Georgian: ჰიუ, ჰიუგო
- German: Hugo
- Greek: Ούγος
- Hungarian: Hugó
- Irish: Aodh
- Italian: Ugo
- Latin: Hugo
- Latvian: Uģis
- Norwegian: Hugo
- Polish: Hugo, Hugon
- Portuguese: Hugo

## People named Hugh

- Hugh Grant, British actor
- Hugh Laurie, English actor, comedian, director, musician and writer (born 1959)
- Hugh Hefner, American businessman and magazine publisher (1926–2017)
- Hugh David Politzer, American physicist
- Hugh Bonneville, British actor (born 1963)
- Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris (c. 898–956)
- Hugh Lofting, British author (1886–1947)
- Hugh Walpole, British writer (1884-1941)
- Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, British officer in the Royal Air Force (1882-1970)
- Hugh O'Brian, American actor and United States Marine (1925–2016)
- Hugh Hudson, British director (1936–2023)
- Hugh Trevor-Roper, British historian (1914-2003)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.