Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Hugo

Say it HYOO-go 2 syllables

Germanic · “thought, mind, spirit”

Loved in Sweden, Catalonia, Spain, and 1 more place. Common in France, England and Wales, the Netherlands, and 10 more places. Rare across Italy, Poland, three Canadian provinces, and 11 more places.

1 in 64 boys born in Catalonia in 2025. Number 7 there.

Hugo in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 4, common in 13, rare in 16.
Hugo in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales46 (up)20251,0941 in 249512020
Scotland114 (up)2025441 in 4461462020
Northern Ireland48 (up)2025421 in 1971192020
Ireland42 (up)20251171 in 203992020
North America
Ontario (province)186 (up)202471about 1 in 8432232019
Quebec (province)116 (down)202560about 1 in 484982020
British Columbia (province)218 (down)202316about 1 in 8141432018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)18 (up)2025231332020
Victoria (state)31 (up)2025179322020
Queensland (state)24 (up)2025154302020
South Australia (state)11 (up)202573222020
New Zealand22 (up)2025113252020
Western Europe
France25 (down)20251,6001 in 189102020
Netherlands42 (down)2025278about 1 in 239212020
Central Europe
Austria305 (up)2025181 in 2,1153382020
Switzerland145 (down)2025511 in 7061142020
Berlin (city)115 (down)202330about 1 in 517772018
Munich (city)175 (down)20257about 1 in 624862020
Cologne (city)106 (up)202312about 1 in 5321482018
Bonn (city)256 (down)20252about 1 in 1,5851042020
Leipzig (city)127 (down)20254about 1 in 719912020
Rostock (city)69 (down)20253about 1 in 349452020
Nordic countries
Norway101 (up)2025641 in 3641192020
Sweden22025621about 1 in 6922020
Denmark16 (up)2025347192020
Finland132025204No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
Spain2 (down)20242,73412019
Catalonia (region)7 (up)20253211 in 64112020
Italy1,635 (new in the list)202441 in 47,340Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland118 (down)20251241 in 1,0191122020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Estonia620256862020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Hugo came into use through Old French, but its roots are Germanic: it goes back to a Frankish word meaning 'thought, mind, spirit'.

2 more paragraphs

It has two syllables, HYOO-go, and a warm, rounded sound. Related names include Hugh, Ugo, Hugues, Huon and Huw, so the same name can be found in English, French, Italian and Welsh forms.

Hugo is second only to one other name in Sweden and Spain and ranks highly in Estonia. It is well liked in Australia and New Zealand too, appearing in the lists for South Australia and New South Wales. French records show a peak around the turn of the millennium, and the recent trend is mixed, rising in some places and falling in about as many.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
HYOO-go · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“thought, mind, spirit”
Origin
Germanic
Related names
Hugh, Hugon, Huon, Hugues, Ugo, Huw
Where Hugo comes from (Wiktionary)

From Old French Hugo, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *hugi (“thought, mind, spirit”).

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Hugo. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hugo over time

Rising in 8 of the 28 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 8. Peak in France: 2000.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Hugo in England and Wales: #216 in 1996, a peak of #45 in 2021, and #46 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #216, 144 boys1997: #213, 151 boys1998: #185, 181 boys1999: #173, 196 boys2000: #201, 161 boys2001: #190, 179 boys2002: #177, 205 boys2003: #175, 221 boys2004: #173, 238 boys2005: #179, 248 boys2006: #171, 276 boys2007: #179, 274 boys2008: #164, 314 boys2009: #164, 339 boys2010: #149, 394 boys2011: #139, 448 boys2012: #88, 724 boys2013: #74, 842 boys2014: #70, 956 boys2015: #55, 1,153 boys2016: #50, 1,234 boys2017: #48, 1,311 boys2018: #53, 1,279 boys2019: #48, 1,329 boys2020: #51, 1,196 boys2021: #45, 1,325 boys2022: #47, 1,193 boys2023: #48, 1,174 boys2024: #46, 1,094 boys2025: #46, 1,094 boys#216 in 1996peak #45, 2021#46in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996216144
1997213151
1998185181
1999173196
2000201161
2001190179
2002177205
2003175221
2004173238
2005179248
2006171276
2007179274
2008164314
2009164339
2010149394
2011139448
201288724
201374842
201470956
2015551,153
2016501,234
2017481,311
2018531,279
2019481,329
2020511,196
2021451,325
2022471,193
2023481,174
2024461,094
2025461,094

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in France

Half of the boys named Hugo in France since 1925 were born in or after 2005. Peak: 2000, about 1,924 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 3.2 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 2.9 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 2.1 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 3 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 1.2 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 1.4 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 2.6 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 3.1 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 5.8 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 23.7 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 37.5 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 58.5 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 212.1 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 485.2 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 1,214.3 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 1,811.3 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 1,213.4 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 1,220.7 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 1,050.5 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 729.4 per 100,000 boys20202025: 528.6 per 100,000 boys20252000-2004: about 1 in 55 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19293.2
1930–19342.9
1935–19392.1
1940–19443
1945–19491.2
1950–19541.4
1955–19592.6
1960–19643.1
1965–19695.8
1970–197423.7
1975–197937.5
1980–198458.5
1985–1989212.1
1990–1994485.2
1995–19991,214.3
2000–20041,811.3
2005–20091,213.4
2010–20141,220.7
2015–20191,050.5
2020–2024729.4
2025528.6

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Hugo

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Hugo, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 67, Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 62, Poland

  3. 1 in 255, Scotland

  4. 1 in 64, Austria

  5. 1 in 177, Scotland

  6. 1 in 85, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 153, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 192, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 197, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 86, England and Wales

All 40 brother names for Hugo

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Hugo's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 62, Poland

  5. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 137, Scotland

  8. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Hugo Jack

Syllables 2-1Initials H.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Hugo

Sisters for Hugo: Alice, Ava, Matilda, and 5 more
  1. AliceRose and fell with Hugo · As common as Hugo
  2. AvaRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo
  3. MatildaRose and fell with Hugo · Germanic, like Hugo
  4. EmmaRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo
  5. HannahRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo · Same initial as Hugo
  6. ClaraRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo
  7. EvaRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo
  8. ChloeRose and fell with Hugo · Same generation as Hugo

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Hugo

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Hugo's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Common across France, the UK, three Nordic countries, and 11 more places.

  2. Common in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and 14 more places.

  3. Loved across the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and 7 more places.

  4. Loved across France, the UK, Canada, and 16 more places.

  5. Common in France, England and Wales, Ontario, and 12 more places.

  6. Common across France, the UK, three Canadian provinces, and 8 more places.

  7. Common across France, the UK, Italy, and 25 more places.

  8. Loved across France, the UK, Canada, and 19 more places.

Famous people named Hugo

Hugo Chávez, Hugo Grotius, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Hugo

How popular is Hugo in South Australia?

Hugo ranked #11 in South Australia in 2025, given to 73 boys.

Is Hugo rising in popularity?

It is rising and falling in about as many places. Rising in 8 of the 28 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 8. Rising in: Northern Ireland, Ireland, South Australia, New South Wales, Scotland, and 3 other regions.

What does Hugo mean?

Hugo means “thought, mind, spirit”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Hugo have?

Hugo has 2 syllables: HYOO-go.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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