Hector
Hector was given to 779 boys in 2025, #409 among boys’ names; 109,209 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 96,100 Americans named Hector and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (88% of everyone recorded); the median is 32 years old and half are between 20 and 47.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Hector by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Hector mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Hector is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the senses “holding fast” (ἕκτωρ) and “to have, hold” (ἔχω) and “to hold; to overpower” (*seǵʰ-).
From Latin Hectōr or Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr), from ἕκτωρ (héktōr, “holding fast”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to have, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold; to overpower”). Sometimes used as an anglicization of various Scottish Gaelic names, including Eachann and Eochaid. The thundercloud cluster was named by pilots during the Second World War.
/ˈhɛktɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Hector?
#409 among boys’ names, 2025
Hector fell from #303 in 2015 to #409 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.62 to 0.46 per 1,000.
2,458 babies in 2005, the peak
Hector peaked in 2005, when 2,458 boys were given it, #167 among boys’ names. The 779 births of 2025 are 32% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 779 | #409 | 0.46 |
| 2024 | 864 | #379 | 0.50 |
| 2023 | 831 | #385 | 0.49 |
| 2022 | 927 | #355 | 0.53 |
| 2021 | 901 | #361 | 0.52 |
| 2020 | 856 | #365 | 0.50 |
| 2019 | 985 | #341 | 0.55 |
| 2018 | 1,012 | #331 | 0.56 |
| 2017 | 1,074 | #318 | 0.58 |
| 2016 | 1,100 | #319 | 0.58 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,194 | #303 | 0.62 |
| 2014 | 1,214 | #292 | 0.63 |
| 2013 | 1,257 | #277 | 0.66 |
| 2012 | 1,325 | #267 | 0.70 |
| 2011 | 1,414 | #248 | 0.74 |
| 2010 | 1,562 | #226 | 0.81 |
| 2009 | 1,845 | #204 | 0.93 |
| 2008 | 2,179 | #182 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 2,243 | #183 | 1.1 |
| 2006 | 2,327 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 2,458 | #167 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 2,004 | #192 | 1.0 |
| 2003 | 1,998 | #189 | 1.0 |
| 2002 | 1,942 | #195 | 1.0 |
| 2001 | 1,905 | #193 | 1.0 |
| 2000 | 1,979 | #185 | 1.0 |
| 1999 | 1,915 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 1998 | 1,815 | #185 | 0.95 |
| 1997 | 1,870 | #179 | 1.0 |
| 1996 | 1,966 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1995 | 1,877 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1994 | 1,973 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1993 | 2,032 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1992 | 2,018 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1991 | 2,036 | #158 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 1,991 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1989 | 1,806 | #167 | 0.90 |
| 1988 | 1,656 | #170 | 0.87 |
| 1987 | 1,592 | #172 | 0.85 |
| 1986 | 1,474 | #181 | 0.80 |
| 1985 | 1,492 | #178 | 0.81 |
| 1984 | 1,336 | #185 | 0.74 |
| 1983 | 1,369 | #184 | 0.76 |
| 1982 | 1,525 | #172 | 0.84 |
| 1981 | 1,410 | #177 | 0.79 |
| 1980 | 1,448 | #169 | 0.81 |
| 1979 | 1,421 | #167 | 0.83 |
| 1978 | 1,243 | #191 | 0.76 |
| 1977 | 1,144 | #199 | 0.70 |
| 1976 | 1,254 | #180 | 0.80 |
| 1975 | 1,245 | #182 | 0.80 |
| 1974 | 1,213 | #185 | 0.77 |
| 1973 | 1,194 | #190 | 0.77 |
| 1972 | 1,115 | #204 | 0.69 |
| 1971 | 1,176 | #204 | 0.66 |
| 1970 | 1,125 | #220 | 0.61 |
| 1969 | 1,127 | #215 | 0.63 |
| 1968 | 1,039 | #220 | 0.60 |
| 1967 | 936 | #233 | 0.54 |
| 1966 | 938 | #231 | 0.53 |
| 1965 | 967 | #235 | 0.52 |
| 1964 | 945 | #250 | 0.47 |
| 1963 | 958 | #248 | 0.47 |
| 1962 | 924 | #254 | 0.45 |
| 1961 | 899 | #261 | 0.42 |
| 1960 | 871 | #271 | 0.41 |
| 1959 | 915 | #265 | 0.43 |
| 1958 | 839 | #268 | 0.40 |
| 1957 | 808 | #264 | 0.37 |
| 1956 | 801 | #256 | 0.38 |
| 1955 | 800 | #247 | 0.39 |
| 1954 | 649 | #277 | 0.32 |
| 1953 | 626 | #279 | 0.32 |
| 1952 | 600 | #283 | 0.31 |
| 1951 | 590 | #280 | 0.31 |
| 1950 | 473 | #315 | 0.26 |
| 1949 | 467 | #313 | 0.26 |
| 1948 | 423 | #326 | 0.24 |
| 1947 | 333 | #378 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 300 | #376 | 0.18 |
| 1945 | 258 | #374 | 0.19 |
| 1944 | 241 | #388 | 0.18 |
| 1943 | 240 | #396 | 0.17 |
| 1942 | 193 | #445 | 0.14 |
| 1941 | 178 | #436 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 192 | #422 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 172 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 183 | #421 | 0.16 |
| 1937 | 156 | #449 | 0.15 |
| 1936 | 166 | #435 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 175 | #420 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 185 | #411 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 198 | #387 | 0.20 |
| 1932 | 172 | #426 | 0.16 |
| 1931 | 189 | #408 | 0.18 |
| 1930 | 198 | #420 | 0.18 |
| 1929 | 192 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 186 | #439 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 182 | #453 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 146 | #501 | 0.13 |
| 1925 | 138 | #523 | 0.12 |
| 1924 | 139 | #536 | 0.12 |
| 1923 | 127 | #549 | 0.12 |
| 1922 | 123 | #578 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 129 | #551 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 119 | #573 | 0.11 |
| 1919 | 107 | #582 | 0.11 |
| 1918 | 90 | #648 | 0.09 |
| 1917 | 85 | #646 | 0.09 |
| 1916 | 91 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1915 | 108 | #536 | 0.13 |
| 1914 | 58 | #669 | 0.09 |
| 1913 | 51 | #622 | 0.10 |
| 1912 | 51 | #565 | 0.12 |
| 1911 | 35 | #500 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 18 | #718 | 0.09 |
| 1909 | 18 | #643 | 0.11 |
| 1908 | 15 | #696 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 16 | #646 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 12 | #729 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 12 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 17 | #548 | 0.13 |
| 1903 | 11 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,124 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 19 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 12 | #595 | 0.11 |
| 1898 | 10 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 14 | #565 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 12 | #655 | 0.10 |
| 1895 | 7 | #927 | 0.06 |
| 1894 | 8 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 6 | #958 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 15 | #531 | 0.12 |
| 1891 | 13 | #509 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 6 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 7 | #841 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 18 | #453 | 0.15 |
| 1887 | 7 | #786 | 0.07 |
| 1886 | 6 | #898 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 9 | #669 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 11 | #586 | 0.10 |
| 1883 | 10 | #615 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 6 | #883 | 0.05 |
| 1881 | 6 | #819 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 15 | #473 | 0.14 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Hector a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Hector has been given almost only to boys: 481 girls in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Hector: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Hector, and how old are they?
96,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 88% of the 109,209 Americans ever recorded as Hector. The median Hector alive today is 32 years old; half are between 20 and 47.
The 2020 Census counted 168,413 people named Hector (337 women and girls, 168,076 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 94,019 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 711 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 9,160 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 16,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 26,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 30,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 12,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Hector born?
The states with the most babies named Hector are Texas, California and Florida, with 53% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 200 | #191 | 3.1× |
| California | 157 | #237 | 2.4× |
| Florida | 48 | #407 | 0.8× |
| Arizona | 40 | #210 | 2.4× |
| Georgia | 23 | #469 | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 22 | #476 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 21 | #489 | 0.3× |
| New York | 20 | #728 | 1.5× |
| Tennessee | 17 | #461 | 0.1× |
| Colorado | 15 | #408 | 0.7× |
Where Hector is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Hector is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 3.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Hector with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 109,310 babies since 1880, Hector is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 779 of their 779 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Hector
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Hector and names like it
- Compare Hector and HektorBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sHector peaked in 2005.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Hector since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Hector: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2005The year the most babies were named Hector.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Hector alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with HMost given first.