Hugo
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Meaning
from a Germanic word for "mind," "thought" or "spirit"
The story
Hugo belongs to a Germanic name family built from a word for "mind," "thought" or "spirit." Hugh is its related English form. The family was used by Frankish and French nobles, including Hugh Capet, the tenth-century king who founded the Capetian line of kings. The Normans brought the Hugh form to England.
Hugo of Saint Victor is known in English as Hugh of Saint Victor. He taught at Saint-Victor in Paris in the twelfth century. His Didascalicon was a guide to learning that explained how different fields of study fitted together.
In Victor Hugo’s name, Hugo is the surname. His novel Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, contributed to public awareness that the cathedral and other historic buildings needed protection. He also wrote Les Misérables, resuming and finishing the novel while living in exile at Hauteville House on Guernsey.
The Hugo Awards are named after a man whose first name was Hugo: Luxembourg-born editor Hugo Gernsback. He founded Amazing Stories in 1926. The awards’ official history describes it as the first major American science-fiction magazine and credits it with helping that kind of writing reach a wider audience. The awards recognize science fiction and fantasy, are organized and voted on by fans through the Worldcon convention, and have a rocket-shaped trophy.
On record since at least 1141: Hugo of Saint-Victor, theologian.
How popular is Hugo around the world?
In the United States, 4,636 babies were named Hugo between 2020 and 2025. In Spain, 102,296 residents are named Hugo, the 45th most common name among men, with a mean age of 14.1 years.
Hugo is on the official records of the United States, Spain, France, South Australia, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, England and Wales, Mexico City, New South Wales, Scotland, Brazil, Canada, Poland, Puerto Rico, Montevideo, Argentina, Chile and Austria.
Hugo crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 4,700
In the United States, 4,636 babies were named Hugo between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Hugo peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Hugo has stayed between 794 and 7,324 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Spain
#2 · 2024
In Spain, 102,296 residents are named Hugo, the 45th most common name among men, with a mean age of 14.1 years.
In Spain, Hugo was the 2nd 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
France
1 in 400
In France, about 1,600 boys named Hugo were born in 2025, the 25th 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)
South Australia
1 in 4302017
In South Australia, 43 boys were registered as Hugo in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Norway
1 in 440register 2026
In Norway, 64 boys were given the name Hugo in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Ireland
1 in 460
In Ireland, 117 boys named Hugo were born in 2025, the 42nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
1 in 510
In New Zealand, 113 boys named Hugo were registered in 2025.
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
England and Wales
1 in 540
In England and Wales, 1,094 boys named Hugo were born in 2025, the 46th 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
Mexico City City
1 in 940
In Mexico City, there were 125 registrations of Hugo 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 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New South Wales
#18 · 2025
In New South Wales, 231 boys named Hugo were registered in 2025, ranked 18th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 1,300
In Scotland, 36 boys named Hugo were registered in 2024, the 135th 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
Brazil
1 in 1,800
At the 2022 census, 114,803 people in Brazil were named Hugo, the 283rd most common name, with a median age of 24.
Among people named Hugo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 8,300 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
Canada
1 in 2,000
In Canada, 187 boys named Hugo were born in 2024, the 183rd 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)
Poland
1 in 2,000
In Poland, 124 boys named Hugo were born in 2025, the 118th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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)
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,000
In Puerto Rico, 9 babies were named Hugo in 2025, and 111 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)
Montevideo City
1 in 3,5002011
In Montevideo, 7 boys named Hugo 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
Argentina
1 in 3,900
In Argentina, 172 newborns were given the name Hugo 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
Chile
1 in 4,000
In Chile, 45 boys were registered as Hugo in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
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
Austria
1 in 4,200
In Austria, 18 boys named Hugo were born in 2025, the 305th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
When you meet Hugo
Most people given the name Hugo in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Hugo · Spanish baby names from Spain · French baby names · British and London baby names · Global crossover names · Short names · Familiar but never popular
The Hugo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Hugo 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 Hugo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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