Hamish is a boy name with a rare feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Hamish means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Hamish across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Hamish has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Hamish is a boy name of Scottish (Gaelic) origin meaning “supplanter”. A Scottish form of James.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 364 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 2,857 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 2,598 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 10 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 22 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 5,758 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Hamish per year, England & Wales (1996 to 2025). England & Wales peaked in 1998 (138/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2016 (117/yr) · United States peaked in 2017 (25/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2019 (9/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 1998 (4/yr).
Hamish is a rare baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2017, when it ranked #9,097 nationally (given to 221 babies that year).
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