Boy · #5,078 in 2026

Hughes

Name: Popularity of the name Hughes in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Hughes, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Hughes is a given name. Notable people with the name include:Hughes Cleaver (1892–1980), Canadian politician Hughes Eng, Canadian community activist Hughes Rudd (1921–1992), American television journalist and news correspondent Hughes Winborne, American film editor

Current Rank

#5,078

Peak Rank

#790 (1916)

Total Babies

932

5-Yr Trend

+35%

1896

First Year

2026

Last Year

1916

Peak Year

#790

Peak Rank

932

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Hughes

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Hughes

Hughes first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1896, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1916, when 61 Hughess were born — ranking #790 that year. As of 2026, Hughes ranks #5,078 for baby boys with 19 births, rising sharply (+35% over the past five years). In total, more than 932 Hughess have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1890s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Hughes

Phonetically similar names — useful when Hughes is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Hues
Houes
Huse
Hughs
Hews
Hewes
Hue
Whiz
Hugh
Wheeze
Whizz
Hew

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Hughes

What does the name Hughes mean?

How popular is Hughes in 2026?

In 2026, Hughes ranks #5,078 among boys' names in the U.S., with 19 babies given the name that year.

When was Hughes most popular?

Hughes reached its peak popularity in 1916, ranking #790 that year with 61 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Hughes most popular?

Hughes has historically been most popular in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Hughes.

Is Hughes a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Hughes is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Hughes?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Hughes include Ocie, Yoshio, Dalvin. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Hughes

Hughes is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1896 and has accumulated 932 births in the dataset. Hughes's peak popularity came in 1916 when it ranked #790. Use the chart and map above to compare Hughes's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.