Boy · Germanic, through Norman French
Hugh
Say it: HYOO
Meaning
From Germanic hug 'heart, mind, spirit'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
A Frankish and Norman name; in Ireland it was used to render the Gaelic Aodh.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 82,507 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1881, about 1 in 460 boys
- 323 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Early Middle Ages400 to 800
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Hugo, Hew, Huw
| German | Hugo |
|---|---|
| French | Hugues |
| Italian | Ugo |
| Spanish | Hugo |
| Dutch | Huig |
| Irish | Aodh |
| Welsh | Huw |
Famous bearers
- Hugh Capet, king of France
- Saint Hugh of Lincoln
- Hugh Despenser the Younger
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Domesday Book (1086) source
- Royal and noble genealogies
- Calendars of saints and name days
- Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.