Hugo

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Boy · Germanic

Hugo

Say it: HOO-goh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Latinized form of Germanic Hugo, from hug 'heart, mind, spirit'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

A medieval Latin form that is now among the most popular boys' names in Spain, France and Scandinavia.

Its wave through time

A revival, back after decades away

In the United States

020406018801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2020per 100,000 babies of that sex
  • 33,572 babies given this name since 1880
  • At its height in 2020, about 1 in 2,400 boys
  • 705 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
  2. The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
  3. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  4. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

GermanDutchSwedishSpanishFrenchPortugueseEnglish

The family of the name

EnglishHugh
FrenchHugues
ItalianUgo
SpanishHugo
GermanHugo

Famous bearers

  • Hugo Grotius, Dutch jurist
  • Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • Medieval European charters and records
  • National birth statistics of European countries source
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • 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.