Hec
An abbreviated form of the name Hector, derived from the Greek meaning "holding fast" or "steadfast".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Hec. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hec today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hec births was 1973 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hec. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hec. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1973
5 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,393
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Hec: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Hec by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hec during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Hec
The name Hec has its origins in the ancient Germanic language, with roots dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "haikaz," which means "hedge" or "enclosure." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who lived near a hedge or within a fenced-in area.
Hec was a relatively common name among the Germanic tribes, particularly the Franks, who settled in regions of what is now modern-day France and Germany. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Frankish records and chronicles from the 6th and 7th centuries.
One of the most notable historical figures to bear the name Hec was Hec the Fowler, a Frankish nobleman who lived in the late 8th century. He played a significant role in the consolidation of Frankish power under Charlemagne and was renowned for his skills as a hunter and falconer.
Another prominent individual named Hec was Hec of Trier, a Frankish bishop who lived in the 9th century. He was known for his ecclesiastical reforms and his efforts to promote education and literacy among the clergy.
In the 11th century, Hec the Red was a Norman knight who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. He was granted lands in the English county of Hertfordshire and his descendants became part of the English nobility.
During the Crusades, a knight named Hec de Montfort fought alongside Richard the Lionheart and was present at the siege of Acre in 1191. He later settled in the Holy Land and established a lineage of Frankish nobles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
In the 13th century, Hec von Falkenau was a German nobleman and poet who wrote in the courtly love tradition of the time. His poems and ballads were widely celebrated and influenced other writers of the era.
While the name Hec fell out of widespread use in most parts of Europe by the late Middle Ages, it has maintained a presence in some regions, particularly in parts of Germany and France, where it has been passed down through generations as a family name or as a variant of more common names like Heinrich or Henri.
People
Hec + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hec as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hec: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hec?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hec going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Hec a common name?
We classify Hec as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hec most popular?
The single biggest year for Hec was 1973, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hec is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hec in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hec a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hec in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hec still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hec in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hec can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Hec?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.