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BabyNames
Boy name#346 of boy names

Hugh

Pronounced HH Y UW1 (ARPABET)

  • 1 syllable
  • Peaked 1916
  • 145 years in use
  • 1 spelling
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How popular is Hugh?

Hugh is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 84,385 children — the 346th most common boys' name on record.

It peaked in 1916, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1916, when 1,627 children were given it.

Hue is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

05001,0001,5002,00018901920195019802010
1916Boys: 1,627Girls: 7

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Hugh and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Hue

Characteristics

  • 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
HH Y UW1
Stress pattern:
1
Syllables:
1

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Hugh

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Hugh

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Hugh?
Hugh ranks 346th among boys' names in US records, with 84,385 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 3,012.
Is Hugh a unisex name?
No. Hugh is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Hugh most popular?
1916, when 1,627 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Hugh spelled?
Hue. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.