Houston

Meaning: Hugh's town
Origin: From Scottish, via Middle English

Boy's name · #675 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Houston is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1901, when it ranked #319. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 18,000 boys since 1880, ranked #675 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Houston is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 28 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Houston ranks in other countries and regions.

#1,875 in Canada (2024).

Famous Houstons

Houston Stewart Chamberlain — British-German racialist philosopher (1855–1927)
Houston Person — American jazz saxophonist (born 1934)
Houston Conwill — American artist (1947–2016)
Houston Alexander — American martial artist
Houston A. Baker Jr. — English literature scholar

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 57,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Whitney Houston — American singer, actress, and film producer (1963–2012)
Sam Houston — American statesman, politician, and soldier (1793–1863)
Cissy Houston — American singer (1933–2024)

What Houstons become

Among 75 notable people named Houston:

Sports figures appear 2.03× more often than among typical names — e.g. Houston Alexander, American martial artist.

Similar names: Irving · Davis · Coleman · Keaton · Ellison · Vaughn

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

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