Meaning and history
Hugh comes from the Germanic name Hugo, from Old Frankish hugi or Old High German hugu meaning “mind,” “thought,” or “spirit” (Proto-Germanic *hugiz). It was common among Frankish and French nobility, including Hugh Capet, the 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England, where it became widespread, especially after the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, noted for his charity. It was also borne by kings of Cyprus and of the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem, and in Ireland and Scotland it is used as the Anglicized form of Aodh and Ùisdean.
20062006: 184 births, rank #1,000
2007: 200 births, rank #981
2008: 195 births, rank #1,002
2009: 199 births, rank #991
2010: 206 births, rank #961
20112011: 210 births, rank #943
2012: 220 births, rank #930
2013: 227 births, rank #914
2014: 255 births, rank #864
2015: 265 births, rank #847
20162016: 264 births, rank #849
2017: 264 births, rank #837
2018: 281 births, rank #805
2019: 287 births, rank #799
2020: 324 births, rank #748
20212021: 343 births, rank #742
2022: 312 births, rank #804
2023: 323 births, rank #782
2024: 333 births, rank #762
20252025: 360 births, rank #732
Hugh rose from #762 to #732 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1916, with 1,619 births.