Hugh

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Hugh: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Hugh: Recorded since 1955, it reached #53 in 1964, and it stood at #179 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
122times a registrar ranked it
71years from first to last
#53highest recorded position
19groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Hugh's record

Held a top-100 place for 29 years running. Names by top-100 run

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#220
1997	#198
1998	#247
1999	#261
2000	#287
2001	#296
2002	#269
2003	#304
2004	#288
2005	#281
2006	#350
2007	#400
2008	#349
2009	#385
2010	#364
2011	#349
2012	#398
2013	#407
2014	#352
2015	#346
2016	#344
2017	#355
2018	#373
2019	#381
2020	#384
2021	#431
2022	#427
2023	#417
2024	#500

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in every year from 1964 to 2025.

In 2024: #162 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #330 among boys in Scotland, #339 among boys in Northern Ireland, #500 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1955–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1955
First recorded at #91 among boys in New Zealand in 1955 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #53 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #179 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Hugh appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, with 62 ranked years and 4,077 births registered; the earliest is New Zealand · Boys, from 1955.

Hugh across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Hugh's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#53 (1964)	#53 (1964)	#179 (2025)	62 of 62	4,077 (1964–2025)	118 (1965)
England and Wales · Boys	#220 (1996)	#198 (1997)	#500 (2024)	29 of 29	3,214 (1996–2024)	165 (1997)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#169 (1997)	#126 (2023)	#339 (2024)	28 of 28	315 (1997–2024)	19 (2015)
New Zealand · Boys	#91 (1955)	#91 (1955)	#98 (1957)	2 of 3	101 (1955–1957)	51 (1957)

Hugh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Hugh in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	597	6 of 10	100
1970s	842	10 of 10	84
1980s	671	10 of 10	67
1990s	534	10 of 10	53
2000s	593	10 of 10	59
2010s	603	10 of 10	60
2020s	237	6 of 10	40

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 100 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Hugh appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1955 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #53 in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Hugh's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#500	78	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#417	94	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#427	96	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#431	97	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#384	111	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#381	115	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#373	121	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#355	133	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#344	136	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#346	133	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#352	121	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#407	100	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#398	103	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#349	124	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#364	112	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#385	101	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#349	111	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#400	90	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#350	100	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#281	116	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#288	106	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#304	94	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#269	104	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#296	93	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#287	94	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#261	108	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#247	119	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#198	165	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#220	139	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	male	#98	51	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	male	#91	50	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#339	4	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#126	19	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#147	16	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#211	10	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#159	14	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#146	17	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#215	9	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#363	4	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#166	15	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#142	19	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#152	18	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#208	10	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#156	17	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#191	11	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#211	10	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#191	12	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#217	9	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#222	8	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#238	6	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	male	#218	7	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#164	12	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	male	#154	12	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	male	#167	9	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#280	3	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	male	#176	8	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	male	#140	13	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#137	14	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#169	9	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#179	27	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#162	31	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#146	37	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#135	44	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#131	48	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#122	50	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#161	36	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#135	45	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#117	54	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#119	57	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#110	65	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#106	71	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#98	73	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#112	63	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#99	79	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#126	60	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#92	82	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#100	76	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#111	65	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#104	60	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#99	62	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	66	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#102	54	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#105	48	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#127	35	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#105	45	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#105	44	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#106	40	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#97	51	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#102	55	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#89	61	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#99	54	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#102	54	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#97	59	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	64	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#100	52	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	58	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#89	59	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#94	62	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#90	65	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#90	64	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#87	66	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#90	66	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#95	64	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#83	82	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#81	85	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#84	88	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	73	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#95	70	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	76	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#94	68	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#80	88	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#81	96	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	98	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	92	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#75	93	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#73	87	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#71	81	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#56	104	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#62	95	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#53	118	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#53	112	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#330	11	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1955 and 2025, ranked in 64 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #53, first reached in 1964.

It held a top-100 place in 40 years, 29 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 165 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 69 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Hudson · #7, 30y
Huey · #715, 25y
Hughie · #307, 30y
Hugo · #18, 81y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Ruben · #52, 67y
Todd · #55, 59y
Isobel · #50, 60y
Connie · #58, 69y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Krzysztof · #53, 70y
Neville · #53, 66y
Tine · #53, 60y
Pawel · #54, 65y

Hugh was ranked #53 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1964. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Hugh and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Hugh without appearing here.

Hugh moved ahead of

Filip Compare
In 2021 they stood at #211 and #211 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #147 and #352.
Colin Compare
In 2017 they stood at #363 and #363 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #215 and #416.
Philip Compare
In 2017 they stood at #363 and #363 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #215 and #416.
Richard Compare
In 2017 they stood at #363 and #279 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #215 and #416.

Moved ahead of Hugh

Muhammad Compare
In 2023 they stood at #126 and #232 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #339 and #154.
Hayden Compare
In 2023 they stood at #126 and #272 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #339 and #164.
Tobias Compare
In 2023 they stood at #126 and #312 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #339 and #177.
Hunter Compare
In 2011 they stood at #349 and #473 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #398 and #238.

Moved the opposite way to Hugh

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 while Alexander went from #116 to #55.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 while Benjamin went from #139 to #83.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 while Conor went from #56 to #16.
Liam Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 while Liam went from #54 to #7.

Moved the same way as Hugh

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 and Adrian from #65 to #348.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 and Alfred from #134 to #286.
Denis Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 and Denis from #21 to #232.
Frank Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Hugh went from #53 to #179 and Frank from #164 to #286.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1955 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #53 in Republic of Ireland in 1965. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Hugh

Hugh at a glance

What stands out in Hugh's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Hugh across 4 official records

Hugh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Hugh appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Hugh

Hugh and the names beside it

Hugh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Hugh

Moved the opposite way to Hugh

Moved the same way as Hugh

Hugh at a glance

What stands out in Hugh's record

Hugh across 4 official records

Hugh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Hugh appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Hugh

Hugh and the names beside it

Hugh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Hugh

Moved the opposite way to Hugh

Moved the same way as Hugh