Meaning and history
Latinized form of Greek Ἕκτωρ (Hektor), from ἕκτωρ (hektor) meaning “holding fast,” ultimately from ἔχω (echo) meaning “to hold, to possess.” In Greek legend, Hector was a Trojan champion who fought the Greeks; after killing Patroclus, Achilles killed him and dragged his body behind a chariot. The name also appears in Arthurian legend as King Arthur’s foster father. It has been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, likely because of the classical hero’s noble character, and was historically common in Scotland as an Anglicized form of Eachann.
20062006: 2,327 births, rank #175
2007: 2,243 births, rank #183
2008: 2,179 births, rank #182
2009: 1,845 births, rank #204
2010: 1,562 births, rank #226
20112011: 1,414 births, rank #248
2012: 1,325 births, rank #267
2013: 1,257 births, rank #277
2014: 1,214 births, rank #292
2015: 1,194 births, rank #303
20162016: 1,100 births, rank #319
2017: 1,074 births, rank #318
2018: 1,012 births, rank #331
2019: 985 births, rank #341
2020: 856 births, rank #365
20212021: 901 births, rank #361
2022: 927 births, rank #355
2023: 831 births, rank #384
2024: 864 births, rank #379
20252025: 779 births, rank #409
Hector moved from #379 to #409 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2005, with 2,458 births.