Hugh

What Hugh means

Means “heart, mind”

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.

Source: Wiktionary, “Hugh” (revision 93671391), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Hugh?

US: Rising: up from #847 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #346 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1887, when 250 boys got the name (#69 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 4,745 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,725 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,511 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in AL (0.56 per 1,000 boys), MA (0.56 per 1,000 boys), MS (0.46 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Hugh is #732 in the US and #529 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Hugh were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Huey42 US · 24 E&W
• Huw0 US · 15 E&W
• Huy10 US
• Hui0 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Hugh

Boys

• Otto#277“wealth, riches”^*
• Conrad#417“bold, brave + counsel”^*
• Myles#100Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #223 in 2015, #100 in 2025
• Alonzo#511Editor’s note Up from #527 in 2015 to #511 in 2025 in the US
• Everett#77Same root as Everard, meaning “wild boar + hard, brave”^*
• Archie#301“anti-aircraft artillery”^*

For a sister

• Astrid#376Danish, from Old Norse Ástríðr, meaning “god + beautiful, originally…^*
• Louisa#694Form of Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*
• Amalia#566“vigor, bravery”^*
• Adaline#208Form of Adela, meaning “noble”^*
• Ada#219“noble”^*
• Evelina#778Editor’s note Up from #1,354 in 2015 to #778 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Germanic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Hugh’s. Rank is US 2025.