How Many People Are Named Hugh?
people named Hugh are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 10,825 people in the US has this name
Based on 84,179 babies named Hugh in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
💎 Rare
Peak Year
1,626 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the Germanic element hug, meaning "heart, mind, spirit". It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of Aodh and Ùisdean.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Hugh (99.8%) were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Hugh alive today is about 54 years old, and 54% are 60 or older. Half of them were between 35 and 73 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Hugh first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1916, to 1,626 babies. In 2025, 360 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Hugh never made the top 10 boys' names. Its best rank was #69, in 1887, and it was in the top 100 in 24 years between 1880 and 1916. In 2025 it ranked #732.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #732 |
| Best rank | #69 (1887) |
| Years in the top 100 | 24 (1880 to 1916) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #127 in the 1920s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Hugh alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Hugh were born in New York than in any other state: about 2,403 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Hugh was given 2.6 times as often in Georgia, 2.2 times in Tennessee and 1.8 times in Mississippi.
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