# Humphrey (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/humphrey/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | “to grant”, “bestow”, “peace” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhʌmfɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Huffie, Humph, Numps |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,085 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,085 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 371, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Name of a 9th-century French saint, brought to England by Normans; Proto-Germanic *unnaną (“to grant, bestow”) + *friþuz (“peace”). In Ireland it has been used to Anglicize Irish Amhlaoibh (= Olaf).

## What it means

Humphrey is grouped under peace.

## 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, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5 | 11,334 |
| 2004 | 8 | 8,419 |
| 2008 | 6 | 11,582 |
| 2009 | 6 | 11,510 |
| 2011 | 6 | 11,368 |
| 2012 | 7 | 10,107 |
| 2013 | 5 | 12,850 |
| 2015 | 7 | 9,949 |
| 2017 | 5 | 13,003 |
| 2018 | 5 | 12,898 |
| 2019 | 6 | 11,289 |
| 2020 | 9 | 8,315 |
| 2021 | 7 | 10,129 |
| 2022 | 5 | 13,064 |
| 2024 | 8 | 9,328 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 1,688 |
| 2012 | 19 | 1,313 |
| 2013 | 20 | 1,247 |
| 2014 | 26 | 1,061 |
| 2015 | 29 | 996 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,570 |
| 2017 | 22 | 1,210 |
| 2018 | 16 | 1,533 |
| 2019 | 19 | 1,316 |
| 2020 | 10 | 2,076 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1,984 |
| 2022 | 16 | 1,534 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,007 |
| 2024 | 18 | 1,460 |
| 2025 | 13 | 1,897 |

## People named Humphrey

- Humphrey Bogart, American actor (1899–1957)
- Humphrey Gilbert, English explorer, politician and soldier (1539-1583)
- Humphrey Carpenter, British writer and broadcaster (1946–2005)
- Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 15th-century English nobleman (1390-1447)
- Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, British noble (1402-1460)
- Humphrey Searle, English composer (1915–1982)
- Thomas Humphrey Marshall, British sociologist (1893-1981)
- Humphrey Campbell, Dutch singer (1958–2024)
- Humphrey Mijnals, Dutch-Surinamese footballer (1930-2019)
- Humphrey Marshall, American politician (1760–1841)
- Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, Anglo-Norman nobleman
- Humphrey Lyttelton, English jazz trumpeter (1921–2008)

## 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.