Boys' name · since 1880
Hector
108,728 babies named Hector in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2005. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #296 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #409 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 108,728
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
Yes -- Hector is the #409 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 108,728 recorded since 1880.
Hector has 108,728 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #409 as of the latest data, more common than 97% of boys, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #296 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #409 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 108,728 born since 1880
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Hector ranks #296 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #409 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 108,728 born since 1880, peaking in the 2000s.
- #296 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #409 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 108,728
- born since 1880
- 2000s
- peak decade
Hector's 108,728 recorded births place it above 99.34% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
43 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Hector compares
108,728 Top 3% higher than 97% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Hector's all-time total is 295x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Hector | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 108,728 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 2,458 | 34 | 22,252 |
Hector's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Hector splits its recorded history at 1953: 92% of all births land in the more recent half, 8% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1901 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2005 peak of 2,458 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Hector popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2005)
- 2,458
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Hector popularity over time - girls
481 total births recorded since 1935 (Hector as girls' name)
Hector by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (20,880 births, 19% of the file).
2000s was Hector's strongest decade.
20,880 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 19% of all-time use.
Hector births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 95
1880s
95 births
- 1890s 103
1890s
103 births
- 1900s 125
1900s
125 births
- 1910s 694
1910s
694 births
- 1920s 1,481
1920s
1,481 births
- 1930s 1,794
1930s
1,794 births
- 1940s 2,825
1940s
2,825 births
- 1950s 7,101
1950s
7,101 births
- 1960s
1960s
9,604 births
- 1970s
1970s
12,130 births
- 1980s
1980s
15,108 births
- 1990s
1990s
19,493 births
- 2000s
2000s
20,880 births
- 2010s
2010s
12,137 births
- 2020s 5,158
2020s
5,158 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 20,880 births (19% of all-time use).
How Hector compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Hector's total volume
Hector by state
Where Hector concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 30,837 | 28.4% |
| #2 | Texas | | 27,940 | 25.7% |
| #3 | New York | | 11,613 | 10.7% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 5,050 | 4.6% |
| #5 | Arizona | | 4,488 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Florida | | 3,550 | 3.3% |
| #7 | New Jersey | | 3,126 | 2.9% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 1,708 | 1.6% |
30,837 of 108,728 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 43 reporting states.
Hector appears in 43 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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When was Hector most popular? ▼
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What to do with Hector's data
- Hector's decade-level peak was the 2000s (20,880 total births); usage has since declined to 5,158 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Hectors (30,837 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Hector
Nearby Names Like Hector
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Hector
Compare Hector side by side: Hector vs Hec
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Hector
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Hector: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2005)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Hector draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.