Hugh - Name Meaning and Origin

Name:

Hugh

Pronunciation:

/hjuː/

Gender:

Male

Origin:

Germanic

Religion:

Christian

Meaning:

Mind, intellect, or spirit

Variations:

Hugo; Hugues; Hughie; Hew; Huw

The name Hugh originates from the Old High German name Hugo, meaning "mind," "intellect," or "spirit." It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, brought by the Normans who used the name Hugues. Historically, Hugh has been borne by several saints, including Saint Hugh of Lincoln, a 12th-century bishop known for his piety and miracles. The name has been used consistently across Europe, with variations like Hugo in German-speaking countries and Hugues in France. In literature, Hugh is a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales." The name is predominantly male, though it has been used as a surname for both genders. In recent years, Hugh has seen a decline in popularity in English-speaking countries but remains a classic choice. Sibling names often include traditional names like Elizabeth, William, or Margaret. Individuals named Hugh are often perceived as intelligent, thoughtful, and introspective, aligning with the name's meaning.

Popularity of The Name Hugh

Hugh has been a traditional name in English-speaking countries but has seen a decline in popularity since the late 20th century. It remains more common in the UK and Ireland than in the US, where it ranks outside the top 1000 names.

Famous People Named Hugh

Hugh Grant

British actor known for romantic comedies

Hugh Jackman

Australian actor famous for playing Wolverine

Hugh Hefner

American magazine publisher and founder of Playboy

Hugh Laurie

British actor and musician known for "House"

Hugh Capet

King of France and founder of the Capetian dynasty

Interesting Facts About the Name Hugh

Most common surname :

Smith, Jones, Brown

Most common spouse name :

Elizabeth, Margaret, Anne

Most common child name :

William, James, Emma

Peak birth year :

In the US: 1920

Characteristics :

Intelligent, thoughtful, introspective

Professional orientation :

Often found in academia, arts, and leadership roles

Historical significance :

Borne by several saints and kings

Pop culture significance :

Hugh Grant and Hugh Jackman have popularized the name in recent decades

Linguistic origin :

Derived from Old High German "hug" meaning mind or spirit

Explore Your Genealogy

The most popular genealogy profiles named Hugh

Hugh McDonald	Hugh MC-Donald	Hugh Smith	Hugh Kennedy
Hugh McMillan	Hugh Cameron	Hugh Kelly	Hugh Martin
Hugh Brown	Hugh Murphy	Hugh McDonell	Hugh O-Donnell
Hugh Campbell	Hugh Gallagher	Hugh O-Neil	Hugh Wilson
Hugh Macdonald	Hugh McGillis	Hugh Brady	Hugh Clarke
Hugh Robertson	Hugh Burns	Hugh Daly	Hugh Jamieson
Hugh Cowan	Hugh Boyd	Hugh Quinn	Hugh Ross
Hugh McGuire	Hugh Taylor	Hugh McKinnon	Hugh McLean
Hugh Murray	Hugh Donnelly	Hugh Gray	Hugh Boyle
Hugh King	Hugh Miller	Hugh Carlin	Hugh O-Connor
Hugh Williams	Hugh Macmillan	Hugh Douglas	Hugh Davis
Hugh Thompson	Hugh Ryan	Hugh Morrow	Hugh Maguire
Hugh Mooney	Hugh Walsh	Hugh Sutherland	Hugh Roberts
Hugh Rogers	Hugh Graham	Hugh Ferguson	Hugh Fraser
Hugh Armstrong	Hugh Flynn	Hugh MC-Gill	Hugh Gorman
Hugh McLaughlin	Hugh Morris	Hugh Turner	Hugh Stewart
Hugh Anderson	Hugh Kinsley	Hugh Morrison	Hugh McLeod
Hugh Reid	Hugh Harris	Hugh Corrigan	Hugh Kane
Hugh Watson	Hugh McGovern	Hugh McIntosh	Hugh McCormick
Hugh Morgan	Hugh Cassidy	Hugh Mac-Donald	Hugh Madden
Hugh Burke	Hugh Cosgrove	Hugh Leonard	Hugh Mullen
Hugh Hannon	Hugh Orr	Hugh Mackenzie	Hugh Adams
Hugh Price	Hugh Moore	Hugh Gordon	Hugh Grant
Hugh Robinson	Hugh White	Hugh Clark	Hugh Devlin
Hugh Dunn	Hugh Kelley	Hugh Mahon	Hugh Scott
Hugh Cunningham	Hugh Doyle	Hugh McCann	Hugh Mitchell
Hugh Farmer	Hugh Shannon	Hugh Green	Hugh Myers
Hugh Maxwell	Hugh Chisholm	Hugh Donovan	Hugh Duncan
Hugh Fitzpatrick	Hugh Michaud	Hugh O-Hara	Hugh Ritchie
Hugh MC-Guire	Hugh Cairns	Hugh Haugland	Hugh Palmer
Hugh Blair	Hugh Doherty	Hugh Gibson	Hugh Johnson
Hugh McPherson	Hugh Wallace	Hugh Bennett	Hugh Mackay
Hugh Davidson	Hugh Mackinnon	Hugh Jones	Hugh Richardson
Hugh Bryson	Hugh Patterson	Hugh McLellan	Hugh Bradley
Hugh Henderson	Hugh McIntyre	Hugh Beattie	Hugh Brennan
Hugh Cooke	Hugh Elliott	Hugh Foley	Hugh Holland
Hugh McGill	Hugh Reilly	Hugh Sloan	Hugh Johnston
Hugh McCabe	Hugh Cleland	Hugh Donahue	Hugh Lalonde
Hugh Lavery	Hugh MC-Millan	Hugh McConnell	Hugh McDonnell
Hugh McNulty	Hugh Connors	Hugh Carroll	Hugh Connor
Hugh Montgomery	Hugh Knight	Hugh Ramage	Hugh Hagan
Hugh Aitken	Hugh Cole	Hugh Sykes	Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Connolly	Hugh Grange	Hugh Hill	Hugh Walker
Hugh Wright	Hugh Patrick	Hugh Pearson	Hugh Barton
Hugh Fitzgerald	Hugh Howard	Hugh Lindsay	Hugh Wood
Hugh Craig	Hugh Loney	Hugh Macpherson	Hugh McCallum
Hugh McMaster	Hugh Moyle	Hugh O-Malley	Hugh O-Neill
Hugh Carpenter	Hugh Hall	Hugh Rice	Hugh Simpson
Hugh Watt	Hugh Coleman	Hugh Cooper	Hugh Lynn
Hugh Macdonell	Hugh Ward	Hugh Corbett	Hugh Doran
Hugh Fitzsimmons	Hugh Herron	Hugh Holt	Hugh Laframboise
Hugh Lynch	Hugh MC-Kinnon	Hugh Shea	Hugh Kerr
Hugh Savage	Hugh Blackburn	Hugh Coyle	Hugh Dunphy
Hugh MC-Kay	Hugh Chicoine	Hugh Finlan	Hugh McClean
Hugh Quinlan	Hugh Riddell	Hugh Rooney	Hugh Waters

The most popular genealogy profiles named Hugh

Hugh McDonald	Hugh MC-Donald
Hugh Smith	Hugh Kennedy
Hugh McMillan	Hugh Cameron
Hugh Kelly	Hugh Martin
Hugh Brown	Hugh Murphy
Hugh McDonell	Hugh O-Donnell
Hugh Campbell	Hugh Gallagher
Hugh O-Neil	Hugh Wilson
Hugh Macdonald	Hugh McGillis
Hugh Brady	Hugh Clarke
Hugh Robertson	Hugh Burns
Hugh Daly	Hugh Jamieson
Hugh Cowan	Hugh Boyd
Hugh Quinn	Hugh Ross
Hugh McGuire	Hugh Taylor
Hugh McKinnon	Hugh McLean
Hugh Murray	Hugh Donnelly
Hugh Gray	Hugh Boyle
Hugh King	Hugh Miller
Hugh Carlin	Hugh O-Connor
Hugh Williams	Hugh Macmillan
Hugh Douglas	Hugh Davis
Hugh Thompson	Hugh Ryan
Hugh Morrow	Hugh Maguire
Hugh Mooney	Hugh Walsh
Hugh Sutherland	Hugh Roberts
Hugh Rogers	Hugh Graham
Hugh Ferguson	Hugh Fraser
Hugh Armstrong	Hugh Flynn
Hugh MC-Gill	Hugh Gorman
Hugh McLaughlin	Hugh Morris
Hugh Turner	Hugh Stewart
Hugh Anderson	Hugh Kinsley
Hugh Morrison	Hugh McLeod
Hugh Reid	Hugh Harris
Hugh Corrigan	Hugh Kane
Hugh Watson	Hugh McGovern
Hugh McIntosh	Hugh McCormick
Hugh Morgan	Hugh Cassidy
Hugh Mac-Donald	Hugh Madden
Hugh Burke	Hugh Cosgrove
Hugh Leonard	Hugh Mullen
Hugh Hannon	Hugh Orr
Hugh Mackenzie	Hugh Adams
Hugh Price	Hugh Moore
Hugh Gordon	Hugh Grant
Hugh Robinson	Hugh White
Hugh Clark	Hugh Devlin
Hugh Dunn	Hugh Kelley
Hugh Mahon	Hugh Scott
Hugh Cunningham	Hugh Doyle
Hugh McCann	Hugh Mitchell
Hugh Farmer	Hugh Shannon
Hugh Green	Hugh Myers
Hugh Maxwell	Hugh Chisholm
Hugh Donovan	Hugh Duncan
Hugh Fitzpatrick	Hugh Michaud
Hugh O-Hara	Hugh Ritchie
Hugh MC-Guire	Hugh Cairns
Hugh Haugland	Hugh Palmer
Hugh Blair	Hugh Doherty
Hugh Gibson	Hugh Johnson
Hugh McPherson	Hugh Wallace
Hugh Bennett	Hugh Mackay
Hugh Davidson	Hugh Mackinnon
Hugh Jones	Hugh Richardson
Hugh Bryson	Hugh Patterson
Hugh McLellan	Hugh Bradley
Hugh Henderson	Hugh McIntyre
Hugh Beattie	Hugh Brennan
Hugh Cooke	Hugh Elliott
Hugh Foley	Hugh Holland
Hugh McGill	Hugh Reilly
Hugh Sloan	Hugh Johnston
Hugh McCabe	Hugh Cleland
Hugh Donahue	Hugh Lalonde
Hugh Lavery	Hugh MC-Millan
Hugh McConnell	Hugh McDonnell
Hugh McNulty	Hugh Connors
Hugh Carroll	Hugh Connor
Hugh Montgomery	Hugh Knight
Hugh Ramage	Hugh Hagan
Hugh Aitken	Hugh Cole
Hugh Sykes	Hugh Wheeler
Hugh Connolly	Hugh Grange
Hugh Hill	Hugh Walker
Hugh Wright	Hugh Patrick
Hugh Pearson	Hugh Barton
Hugh Fitzgerald	Hugh Howard
Hugh Lindsay	Hugh Wood
Hugh Craig	Hugh Loney
Hugh Macpherson	Hugh McCallum
Hugh McMaster	Hugh Moyle
Hugh O-Malley	Hugh O-Neill
Hugh Carpenter	Hugh Hall
Hugh Rice	Hugh Simpson
Hugh Watt	Hugh Coleman
Hugh Cooper	Hugh Lynn
Hugh Macdonell	Hugh Ward
Hugh Corbett	Hugh Doran

Other names starting with H

Explore other names starting with H to help you discover related genealogy records.

Hannah	Hans	Harold	Harry
Harvey	Hazel	Hector	Helen
Helena	Helene	Henderson	Henri
Henry	Hilary	Hilda	Hollis
Horace	Hosanna	Hughes	Hugo

Explore other names starting with H to help you discover related genealogy records.

Hannah	Hans
Harold	Harry
Harvey	Hazel
Hector	Helen
Helena	Helene
Henderson	Henri
Henry	Hilary
Hilda	Hollis
Horace	Hosanna
Hughes	Hugo

Explore first names - their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Continue to explore other first names and their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Ali	Alias	Alvin	Angel
Anita	Arabella	Arianne	Bryan
Emilia	Evanna	Fernando	Gordon
Hermon	Julie	Martina	Muriel
Sabine	Sandy	Sidney	Sterling

Continue to explore other first names and their meanings, origins, and interesting facts

Ali	Alias
Alvin	Angel
Anita	Arabella
Arianne	Bryan
Emilia	Evanna
Fernando	Gordon
Hermon	Julie
Martina	Muriel
Sabine	Sandy
Sidney	Sterling

Other family names that are common with Hugh

Discover common family names associated with the first name Hugh to help you find related genealogy records.

Family Name	Popularity
McDonald	1.73%
MC-Donald	0.84%
Smith	0.76%
Kennedy	0.71%
Cameron	0.69%
McMillan	0.69%
Kelly	0.64%
Martin	0.59%
Murphy	0.54%
Brown	0.54%
McDonell	0.52%
O-Donnell	0.49%
Campbell	0.47%
Gallagher	0.47%
O-Neil	0.44%
McGillis	0.37%
Macdonald	0.37%
Wilson	0.37%
Brady	0.35%
Burns	0.32%