Hugo

“Mind, spirit” — Germanic, via Old French origin

Boy's name · #378 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Hugo was #263 in 1881, slipped to #1053 by 1948, and has climbed back to #378 today. Roughly 37,000 boys have been named Hugo since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Around the world: #2 in Estonia (2024) · #2 in Sweden (2025) · #3 in Spain (2024) · #3 in Finland (Swedish-sp.) (2025) · #13 in Finland (Finnish-sp.) (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 38 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Hugos

Hugo Chávez — Venezuelan politician, 56th president of Venezuela (1954–2013)
Hugo Grotius — Dutch jurist and scholar (1583-1645)
Hugo Lloris — French footballer (born 1986)
Hugo von Hofmannsthal — Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist (1874–1929)
Hugo Weaving — British actor

In stories & tradition

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes — Lost
Hugo Strange — Detective Comics · Batman: Arkham City
Hugo Granger-Weasley — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 · Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

What Hugos become

Among 5,007 notable people named Hugo:

Business leaders appear 1.83× more often than among typical names — e.g. Hugo Mann, German businessman (1913-2008).

Similar names: Huck · Clark · Hugh · Diego · Simon · Otto

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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