How Many People Are Named Hugh?
An estimated 34,527 people in the United States have the first name Hugh. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 58 years old, and Hugh peaked in popularity in 1916 with 1,626 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Hugh as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Hugh paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Hugh is overwhelmingly male, 354 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
34,527
About 1 in 9,927 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
58
years old
Peak Year
1916
1,626 births
Total Registered
83,820
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Hugh
Hugh is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 83,820 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Hugh as a male name
Ranked #763 in 2024
332 male births in 2024
Peak: 1916 (1,619 births)
Hugh as a female name
Ranked #11,268 in 1985
5 female births in 1985
Peak: 1920 (18 births)
Hugh: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Hugh span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 14,249 babies were registered. Hugh has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Hugh by Decade
How has Hugh tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,355 | 2,355 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 2,405 | 2,405 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 2,176 | 2,176 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 10,279 | 10,201 | 78 | |
| 1920s | 14,249 | 14,107 | 142 | |
| 1930s | 11,778 | 11,699 | 79 | |
| 1940s | 11,019 | 10,998 | 21 | |
| 1950s | 9,717 | 9,697 | 20 | |
| 1960s | 6,793 | 6,784 | 9 | |
| 1970s | 3,178 | 3,178 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 2,080 | 2,075 | 5 | |
| 1990s | 1,791 | 1,791 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,887 | 1,887 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 2,479 | 2,479 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 1,634 | 1,634 | 0 | |
Hugh by State
Birth registrations for Hugh span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Delaware. On average, about 1,411 Hughs were registered per state.
Hugh + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Hugh as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Hugh
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Hugh: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hugh?
We estimate approximately 34,527 people named Hugh are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 9,927 Americans share this first name.
Is Hugh a common name?
Hugh is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 83,820 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Hugh most popular?
Hugh reached peak popularity in 1916, when 1,626 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Hugh is approximately 58 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Hugh a male name?
Hugh is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Hugh Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Hugh Smith, Hugh Johnson, Hugh Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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