Hugo
Hugo was given to 837 boys in 2025, #378 among boys’ names; 37,518 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 31,400 Americans named Hugo and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (84% of everyone recorded); the median is 22 years old and half are between 11 and 36.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Hugo by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Hugo mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Hugo is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, a Latinized form of Hugh.” Its etymology gives the sense “thought, mind, spirit” (*hugi).
From Old French Hugo, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *hugi (“thought, mind, spirit”).
/ˈhju.ɡoʊ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Hugo?
#378 among boys’ names, 2025
Hugo rose from #432 in 2015 to #378 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.37 to 0.49 per 1,000.
837 babies in 2025, the peak
Hugo peaked in 2025, when 837 boys were given it, #378 among boys’ names. In 2024 it went to 799 boys.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 837 | #378 | 0.49 |
| 2024 | 799 | #404 | 0.46 |
| 2023 | 771 | #415 | 0.45 |
| 2022 | 800 | #400 | 0.46 |
| 2021 | 714 | #437 | 0.41 |
| 2020 | 709 | #421 | 0.41 |
| 2019 | 648 | #462 | 0.36 |
| 2018 | 733 | #422 | 0.40 |
| 2017 | 750 | #416 | 0.41 |
| 2016 | 724 | #430 | 0.38 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 708 | #432 | 0.37 |
| 2014 | 695 | #436 | 0.36 |
| 2013 | 656 | #439 | 0.35 |
| 2012 | 639 | #433 | 0.34 |
| 2011 | 618 | #439 | 0.33 |
| 2010 | 616 | #440 | 0.32 |
| 2009 | 722 | #407 | 0.36 |
| 2008 | 779 | #388 | 0.38 |
| 2007 | 740 | #400 | 0.36 |
| 2006 | 811 | #370 | 0.39 |
| 2005 | 796 | #371 | 0.40 |
| 2004 | 759 | #366 | 0.38 |
| 2003 | 727 | #365 | 0.37 |
| 2002 | 715 | #368 | 0.37 |
| 2001 | 637 | #396 | 0.33 |
| 2000 | 638 | #399 | 0.32 |
| 1999 | 598 | #406 | 0.31 |
| 1998 | 570 | #416 | 0.30 |
| 1997 | 530 | #429 | 0.28 |
| 1996 | 519 | #432 | 0.27 |
| 1995 | 528 | #432 | 0.28 |
| 1994 | 548 | #419 | 0.28 |
| 1993 | 587 | #393 | 0.30 |
| 1992 | 613 | #377 | 0.31 |
| 1991 | 566 | #402 | 0.28 |
| 1990 | 552 | #415 | 0.27 |
| 1989 | 524 | #407 | 0.26 |
| 1988 | 421 | #439 | 0.22 |
| 1987 | 369 | #461 | 0.20 |
| 1986 | 368 | #454 | 0.20 |
| 1985 | 344 | #465 | 0.19 |
| 1984 | 298 | #486 | 0.17 |
| 1983 | 293 | #493 | 0.16 |
| 1982 | 350 | #456 | 0.19 |
| 1981 | 426 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1980 | 339 | #457 | 0.19 |
| 1979 | 304 | #471 | 0.18 |
| 1978 | 220 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 255 | #518 | 0.16 |
| 1976 | 242 | #517 | 0.15 |
| 1975 | 241 | #516 | 0.15 |
| 1974 | 252 | #502 | 0.16 |
| 1973 | 216 | #535 | 0.14 |
| 1972 | 175 | #602 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 204 | #574 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 162 | #639 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 155 | #637 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 156 | #610 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 118 | #685 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 123 | #668 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 122 | #674 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 103 | #755 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 108 | #749 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 121 | #699 | 0.06 |
| 1961 | 96 | #780 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 96 | #777 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 99 | #770 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 89 | #792 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 91 | #786 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 73 | #877 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 79 | #826 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 80 | #810 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 72 | #849 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 81 | #781 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 71 | #832 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 59 | #893 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 57 | #915 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 45 | #1,052 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 55 | #959 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 59 | #858 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 63 | #779 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 46 | #957 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 66 | #811 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 49 | #951 | 0.04 |
| 1941 | 48 | #922 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 41 | #1,012 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 52 | #848 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 57 | #823 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 77 | #684 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 72 | #703 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 75 | #699 | 0.07 |
| 1934 | 66 | #756 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 75 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 97 | #598 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 98 | #594 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 143 | #499 | 0.13 |
| 1929 | 152 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1928 | 132 | #527 | 0.12 |
| 1927 | 132 | #533 | 0.12 |
| 1926 | 159 | #477 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 157 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 159 | #491 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 151 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1922 | 139 | #532 | 0.13 |
| 1921 | 201 | #429 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 161 | #479 | 0.15 |
| 1919 | 159 | #474 | 0.16 |
| 1918 | 184 | #435 | 0.18 |
| 1917 | 183 | #417 | 0.20 |
| 1916 | 200 | #392 | 0.22 |
| 1915 | 195 | #385 | 0.23 |
| 1914 | 169 | #363 | 0.26 |
| 1913 | 117 | #395 | 0.23 |
| 1912 | 107 | #373 | 0.25 |
| 1911 | 59 | #358 | 0.26 |
| 1910 | 39 | #440 | 0.20 |
| 1909 | 30 | #464 | 0.18 |
| 1908 | 31 | #433 | 0.20 |
| 1907 | 23 | #490 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 27 | #426 | 0.20 |
| 1905 | 16 | #603 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 26 | #412 | 0.20 |
| 1903 | 19 | #493 | 0.16 |
| 1902 | 26 | #398 | 0.21 |
| 1901 | 30 | #328 | 0.28 |
| 1900 | 23 | #484 | 0.15 |
| 1899 | 18 | #446 | 0.17 |
| 1898 | 25 | #401 | 0.20 |
| 1897 | 23 | #396 | 0.20 |
| 1896 | 31 | #344 | 0.26 |
| 1895 | 39 | #284 | 0.33 |
| 1894 | 32 | #311 | 0.28 |
| 1893 | 36 | #288 | 0.32 |
| 1892 | 37 | #306 | 0.30 |
| 1891 | 27 | #328 | 0.27 |
| 1890 | 43 | #265 | 0.39 |
| 1889 | 33 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1888 | 27 | #356 | 0.22 |
| 1887 | 30 | #306 | 0.30 |
| 1886 | 19 | #410 | 0.17 |
| 1885 | 34 | #287 | 0.32 |
| 1884 | 17 | #457 | 0.15 |
| 1883 | 38 | #269 | 0.36 |
| 1882 | 19 | #419 | 0.17 |
| 1881 | 36 | #263 | 0.36 |
| 1880 | 24 | #351 | 0.22 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Hugo a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Hugo has been given almost only to boys: 36 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Hugo: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Hugo, and how old are they?
31,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 84% of the 37,518 Americans ever recorded as Hugo. The median Hugo alive today is 22 years old; half are between 11 and 36.
The 2020 Census counted 59,062 people named Hugo (94 women and girls, 58,968 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 27,569 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.1 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 | 210 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,050 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,930 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,990 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,700 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 9,480 |
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 Hugo born?
The states with the most babies named Hugo are California, Texas and New York, with 37% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 136 | #274 | 2.6× |
| Texas | 112 | #338 | 2.1× |
| New York | 50 | #354 | 1.0× |
| Washington | 44 | #197 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 30 | #375 | 0.4× |
| Florida | 26 | #639 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 25 | #355 | 0.3× |
| Illinois | 24 | #451 | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 24 | #456 | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 24 | #251 | 0.5× |
Where Hugo is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Hugo is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Hugo with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Hugo
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 Hugo and names like it
- Compare Hugo and AbrahamBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sHugo peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Hugo since 1910.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Hugo.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Hugo alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with HMost given first.