Hector is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Hector means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Hector across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Hector has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Hector is a boy name of Greek origin meaning “holding fast”. a Trojan hero in the Iliad.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 109,209 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 3,227 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 353 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 33 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 Hector per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2005 (2,458/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2016 (206/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2021 (24/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2017 (6/yr).
Hector has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2005, when it ranked #302 nationally (given to 2,522 babies that year).
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