boy's name
Hugh
HYOO
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 94,599
the United States
#732
2025 births
Hugh is a boy's name from a Germanic word for mind or spirit, brought to Britain by the Normans. It ranks 184th in Ireland and is reviving in our data after peaking in 1916 — a gap of more than a century between high point and recovery.
- Hugh is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 1916, when 1,626 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 9,209 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Hugh over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,355 |
| 1890s | 2,405 |
| 1900s | 2,176 |
| 1910s | 10,279 |
| 1920s | 14,248 |
| 1930s | 11,779 |
| 1940s | 11,019 |
| 1950s | 9,717 |
| 1960s | 6,792 |
| 1970s | 3,177 |
| 1980s | 2,080 |
| 1990s | 1,791 |
| 2000s | 1,887 |
| 2010s | 2,479 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,995 |
What Hugh means
Hugh means mind, heart or spirit. The Germanic root names the inner faculty rather than the intellect alone, closer to a person's whole disposition than to cleverness.
Where Hugh comes from
Hugh comes from the Old Frankish Hugo, from the Germanic hug, meaning mind, heart or spirit. It reached England with the Normans and was carried by Hugh Capet, whose descendants held the French throne for three centuries, and by Saint Hugh of Lincoln, which secured it in English use. In Ireland it took on a second life that has nothing to do with its Germanic source: English officials used Hugh as the standard rendering of the Irish Aodh, a name meaning fire, because the two sounded near enough in administrative practice. So a great many Irish Hughs are Aodhs in translation, and the name carries two unrelated meanings depending on which family line you follow.
Hugh in use
Hugh ranks 184th in Ireland on 27 births, its highest position in any market, and also charts in Scotland at 350th, Northern Ireland at 394th, England and Wales at 538th and the United States at 732nd. It peaked in the United States in 1916, when 1,626 babies were registered, and is reviving in our data — the recovery comes more than a century after the high point. Our records carry it from 1880 across 94,599 lifetime births.
How popular is Hugh?
In 2025, Hugh was given to 360 babies in the United States, ranking #732 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Hugh is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Hugh
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Hugh also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Hugh over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Hugh
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Hugh in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Hugh
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Hugh — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Hugh
What does the name Hugh mean?
Mind, heart or spirit, from the Germanic hug.
Is Hugh an Irish name?
Not by origin, but English officials used it to render the Irish Aodh, meaning fire, so many Irish Hughs descend from that name instead.
Is Hugh short for Hugo?
No. Hugo is the Latin form and Hugh the English one; both come from the same Germanic root.
How popular is Hugh?
184th in Ireland, and reviving in our data after peaking in 1916.
Is Hugh a girl's or a boy's name?
Hugh is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Hugh?
Hugh has 1 syllable.
What are the nicknames for Hugh?
Hugh is usually shortened to Hughie.
Is Hugh a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Hugh currently ranks #184 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.