Hector
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Meaning
holding fast
The story
Hector is the Latin form of the Greek Hektor, from a root meaning holding fast, built on the verb echo, to hold or to possess. It fits its first bearer perfectly. In Homer's Iliad, Hector is the greatest warrior of Troy and the prince who holds the whole city on his shoulders, the defender who goes out to meet Achilles knowing how it will end. He is the rare Homeric hero remembered as much for tenderness as for courage, his farewell to his wife and infant son one of the most human scenes in ancient poetry. The name became a byword for a stout defender. Especially beloved across the Spanish-speaking world as Héctor, in the United States it was at its most common around the 2000s. Strong, loyal and epic, Hector asks a child to hold fast.
How popular is Hector around the world?
In the United States, 5,158 babies were named Hector between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 162 registrations of Hector in 2022.
Hector is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Spain, Chile, Puerto Rico, France, Argentina, Scotland, England and Wales, Montevideo, Canada, Brazil and Austria.
Hector crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 4,200
In the United States, 5,158 babies were named Hector between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Hector peaked in the 2000s. Hector went to 1,194 US babies in 2015 and 779 in 2025, 65% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 730
In Mexico City, there were 162 registrations of Hector in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (4 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 850
In Spain, 52,829 residents are named Hector, the 80th most common name among men, with a mean age of 25.3 years.
In Spain, Hector was the 49th most common name among boys born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Chile
1 in 1,200
In Chile, 154 boys were registered as Hector in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written Héctor.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,500
In Puerto Rico, 12 babies were named Hector in 2025, and 3,328 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
France
1 in 1,500
In France, about 425 boys named Hector were born in 2025, the 141st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Argentina
1 in 2,800
In Argentina, 236 newborns were given the name Hector in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Scotland
1 in 2,900
In Scotland, 16 boys named Hector were registered in 2024, the 246th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 3,600
In England and Wales, 162 boys named Hector were born in 2025, the 278th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Montevideo City
1 in 8,2002011
In Montevideo, 3 boys named Hector were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Canada
1 in 9,900
In Canada, 37 boys named Hector were born in 2024, the 720th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Brazil
1 in 19,000
At the 2022 census, 11,067 people in Brazil were named Hector, ranked 1,586th, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Hector living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 2,272 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 boys named Hector were born in 2025, the 981st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2023
Hector is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2023
Hector is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Poland
last on record 2024
Hector is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
South Australia
last on record 2016
Hector is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Hector
Most people given the name Hector in the United States were born between 1970 and 2009. The Hector you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Hector · Names that go with Hector · Middle names for Hector · Warrior names · Climbers and fallers
The Hector deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Hector truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Hector fits with your family’s names and surname.
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