Hector
Masculine form of the Greek name meaning "holding fast".
Name Census estimates that about 97,707 living Americans carry the first name Hector. It sits at #380 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hector today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hector births was 2005 (2,458 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hector. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hector with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Hector is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 481 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
98K
~ 1 in 3,508 Americans
Peak year
2005
2,458 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#380
Tracked since 1880
Census
Hector in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 168,415 people with the first name Hector, which placed it at #330 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#330
National first-name rank
People counted
168K
168,415 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
55.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hector
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hector is Hispanic at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hector described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hector at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.7% · 162,792
- White1.9% · 3,116
- Black or African American0.6% · 1,069
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,061
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 201
- Two or more races0.1% · 176
Gender
Gender distribution for Hector
Out of the 108,418 babies given the name Hector since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Hector as a male name
- Ranked #380 in 2024
- 858 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (2,458 births)
Hector as a female name
- Ranked #14,383 in 2008
- 7 female births in 2008
- Peak: 1980 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hector appears almost entirely male. Of the 168,413 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Hector: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hector from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 20,897 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hector 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 Hector during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hectors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Hector, while Maine, Delaware, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,424 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hector
The given name Hector has its origins in the ancient Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "hektōr" which means "holding fast" or "clung to". The name was popular in ancient Greek culture and was often associated with strength, courage, and resilience.
The earliest known reference to the name Hector can be found in the epic poem "Iliad" by Homer, written around the 8th century BC. In the poem, Hector is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War against the Greeks. He is portrayed as a brave and valiant warrior, and his tragic death at the hands of Achilles is a pivotal moment in the story.
Over the centuries, the name Hector has been borne by several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was Hector of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 1st century AD and wrote extensively on Stoic philosophy.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hector gained popularity in various European cultures. One notable bearer of the name was Hector Boece (c. 1465-1536), a Scottish philosopher and historian who wrote the influential work "Historia Gentis Scotorum" (History of the Scottish People).
In the Renaissance period, the name Hector was associated with the ideals of chivalry and heroism. One of the most famous figures with this name was Hector, Lord of Brittany (c. 1415-1486), a French nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable figure was Sir Hector Maclean (c. 1575-1609), a Scottish soldier and chief of the Clan Maclean, who fought in the Scottish-Norwegian War and was renowned for his bravery and leadership.
During the 19th century, the name Hector gained popularity in literature and art. One of the most notable bearers of the name was Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), a French Romantic composer and conductor whose works, such as the "Symphonie Fantastique," revolutionized the genre of program music.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Hector
People
Hector + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hector 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
Hector: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hector?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97,707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hector 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 3,508 US residents.
Is Hector a common name?
We classify Hector as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108,418 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hector most popular?
The single biggest year for Hector was 2005, when 2,458 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hector is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hector in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 168,415 people with the name Hector, or 55.76 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #330 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hector in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hector?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hector appears almost entirely male. Of the 168,413 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hector?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hector is Hispanic at 96.7%. The next largest groups are White (1.9%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hector most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hector in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (162,792 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Hector in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hector a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Hector 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 Hector still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hector 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 Hector 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.
How many people have Hector as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Hector, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.