Hugo

Meaning: Mind, spirit
Origin: From Germanic, via Old French

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

Popularity over time

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.

Across the states

See where Hugo is more common.

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

Around the world

Hugo is especially popular in Sweden, Spain, and Finland (Swedish-sp.).

#2 in Sweden (2025) · #3 in Spain (2024) · #3 in Finland (Swedish-sp.) (2025) · #13 in Finland (Finnish-sp.) (2025) · #16 in Denmark (2025) · #18 in Australia (NSW) (2025) · #22 in New Zealand (2025) · #24 in Australia (QLD) (2025) · #25 in France (2025) · #26 in Belgium (2025) · #31 in Australia (VIC) (2025) · #42 in Netherlands (2025) and 14 more.

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 (TV series)
Hugo Strange — Detective Comics (comics)
Hugo Granger-Weasley — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (film)

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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