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Hector

boy name
Origin
Greek
Syllables
2
Peak era
2000s
Today
▼ Cooling

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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.

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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.

1890speak 2000s

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

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Mexico City City

1 in 730

In Mexico City, there were 162 registrations of Hector in 2022.

peak 20002022

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

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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

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Chile

1 in 1,200

In Chile, 154 boys were registered as Hector in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written Héctor.

1920peak 19462021

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

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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.

peak 19982025

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)

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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.

1900peak 2025

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)

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Argentina

1 in 2,800

In Argentina, 236 newborns were given the name Hector in 2024.

peak 20122024

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

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Scotland

1 in 2,900

In Scotland, 16 boys named Hector were registered in 2024, the 246th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 2021

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

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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.

1996peak 2018

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

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Montevideo City

1 in 8,200 · 2011

In Montevideo, 3 boys named Hector were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

peak 19402011

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

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Canada

1 in 9,900

In Canada, 37 boys named Hector were born in 2024, the 720th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2022

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)

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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.

1930speak 2010s

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

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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)

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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

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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.

peak 19022025

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

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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)

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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

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Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

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.

Names that fit alongside Hector

Ulises Dimitri Leandro Nicholas Isidro Adonis

Keep exploring

Names like Hector · Names that go with Hector · Middle names for Hector · Warrior names · Climbers and fallers

The Hector deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

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.

Both reports, explained →

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