Hugh — #762 US boys' name
83,466 babies named Hugh in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1916. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 95% of names given to boys today.
17% of everyone ever named Hugh was born in this single decade.
1,619 babies were named Hugh in 1916 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Hugh
The Social Security Administration has registered 83,466 babies named Hugh between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Hugh currently holds the #762 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1916, when 1,619 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Hugh performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 14,107 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Hugh shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 5,683 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Georgia and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Hugh in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Hugh in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 83,466 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Hugh at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Hugh popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1916)
- 1,619
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #762 among boys.
83,466 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1916 with 1,619 births in a single year.
Hugh popularity over time — girls
354 total births recorded since 1911 (Hugh as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Hugh accounts for 0% of total recorded use across both genders.
Hugh by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 14,107 births that decade — 17% of Hugh's all-time total
Hugh decade highlights
- Peak decade 14,107 births
- Runner-up 11,699 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Hugh's strongest decade
14,107 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 17% of all-time use.
Hugh by state
Where Hugh concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 5,683 | 6.8% |
| #2 | Georgia | | 5,267 | 6.3% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 4,310 | 5.2% |
| #4 | Texas | | 3,984 | 4.8% |
| #5 | North Carolina | | 3,763 | 4.5% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 3,711 | 4.4% |
| #7 | California | | 3,655 | 4.4% |
| #8 | Alabama | | 2,805 | 3.4% |
5,683 of 83,466 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- New York 6.8% of nationwide
- Georgia 6.3% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.2% of nationwide
- Texas 4.8% of nationwide
- North Carolina 4.5% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
New York accounts for 6.8% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Hugh appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Hugh
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.