Hugo

Latinized form of Hugh

"mind, intellect"

Hugo Origin and Meaning

The name Hugo is a boy's name of German, Spanish, Portuguese origin meaning "mind, intellect".

Hugo, the Latin form of Hugh, has more heft and energy than the original -- and of course we love names that end (or begin, for that matter) with an o. This one is especially appealing because it's backed up by lots of solid history and European style.

Hugo is one of those names that misses by a single year ranking in the Top 1000 for its entire history. It fell off the list in 1948, the height of post-WWII pro-American fervor, before heading back up.

Hugh has held steady in the middle of the US Top 1000 for more than 40 years now, but we predict might be headed for the kind of popularity it enjoys in the rest of the English-speaking world and many European countries.

Hugo ranks in or near the Top 100 in countries and cultures as diverse as Sweden and Spain, France and Finland. It's also a favorite boys' name on Nameberry, usually a harbinger of future success in the US as a whole.

In the seventh Harry Potter novel, Ron and Hermione bestow the name Hugo on their son. Hugo Strange, meanwhile, is a longtime adversary of Batman.

Real-life Hugos include Hugo Chavez, the late president of Venezuela, and the fashion world's Hugo Boss. In the more distant past there was the distinguished Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.

Trivia tidbit: The annual awards for sci-fi writing are called the Hugos, honoring early genre writer Hugo Gernsback.

Hugo Rank in US Top 1000

# 415 in the US

Hugo Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 25 on Nameberry

Hugo Popularity

• 415 US 2023
• 25 Nameberry 2025
• 194 Canada 2022
• 322 Future 2028
• 48 England 2023
• 123 Scotland 2023
• 57 Ireland 2023
• 27 Australia 2023
• 26 New Zealand 2024
• 18 France 2023
• 150 Germany 2016
• 51 Netherlands 2024
• 1 Spain 2023
• 61 Portugal 2018
• 214 Mexico 2021
• 4 Sweden 2022
• 19 Denmark 2023
• 18 Finland 2023
• 20 Belgium 2023
• 130 Switzerland 2023
• 112 Poland 2020

20 Names Similar to Hugo

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Hugo.

• Oscar
• Felix
• Arthur
• Milo
• Leo
• Otto
• Arlo
• Hugh
• Sebastian
• Theodore
• August
• Jasper
• Henry
• Theo
• Louis
• Oliver
• Otis
• Matilda
• Jude
• George

Famous People Named Hugo

• Hugo Grotius (b. 1583) Dutch jurist and "father" of international law
• Hugo Chavez late President of Venezuela
• Hugo Boss German fashion designer
• Hugo Weaving Australian actor
• Hugo Wolf Austrian composer
• Hugo Theorell winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Hugo Pierre Leclercq aka Madeon a French electronic music producer
• Hugo Davis (b. 1996) son of actor Phil Davis
• Hugo James Wentzel (b. 1999) son of Amy Carter; grandson of U.S. President Jimmy Carter
• Hugo Häkkinen (b. 2001) son of racing driver Mika Häkkinen
• Hugo Steuer (b. 2003) son of skater Ingo Steuer
• Hugo Bernard Tambor (b. 2009) son of actor Jeffrey Tambor
• Hugo Verea son of actors Gabrielle Anwar and John Verea
• Hugo Wilson Dallas (b. 2016) son of Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas
• Victor Hugo French novelist
• Hugo Lloris French goalkeeper (Team Captain during France's 2018 World Cup win)

Hugo in Pop Culture

• Hugo "Hurley" Reyes character on TV's "Lost"
• Hugo Granger Weasley, son of Ron and Hermione in the Harry Potter series
• Hugo Cabret character in novel "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and film "Hugo"
• Hugo Stiglitz character in film "Inglourious Basterds"
• Hugo Vega character in video game "Dream Daddy"
• Hugo Character in 'The Boy Who Dared'
• Hugo a mole,like Mabu from the video game "Skylanders"
• Hugo Horton character on British TV series 'The Vicar of Dibley'
• Hugo character in Belgian game "OFF"
• Hugo Carmody character in books by P. G. Wodehouse
• Hugo Weschler boy who gets slapped in TV series "The Slap"
• Hugo Simpson twin of Bart Simpson in an alternate universe episode of "The Simpsons"
• Hurricane Hugo 1989 hurricane
• Hugo dragon character in animated movie "Barbie as Rapunzel"
• Hugo Habercore nemesis to Bob and former fiancé of Linda in "Bob's Burgers"
• Hugo Strange DC comics villain and member of batman's rogues gallery
• Hugo Argreste the name given to Marinette and Adrien's son in Marinette's fantasy in Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir
• Hugo (cocktail) aperitif based on prosecco and elderflower syrup
• Hugo carnival worker in Lemony Snicket's "A Series Of Unfortunate Events"