Hedgar
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "prosperous" or "wealthy".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Hedgar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hedgar today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hedgar births was 2003 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hedgar. 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 Hedgar. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2003
7 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#9,014
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Hedgar: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Hedgar 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 Hedgar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Hedgar
The given name Hedgar has its roots in Old English and Germanic languages. It is derived from the proto-Germanic words "haid" meaning "kind" or "sort" and "gar" meaning "spear". The name could be interpreted as "battle" or "martial kind".
In ancient times, the name was popular among the Anglo-Saxon settlers of Britain. It is believed to have first appeared in records and manuscripts from the 7th century AD, during the formative years of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hedgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical record compiled in the late 9th century. The record mentions a warrior named Hedgar who fought alongside King Alfred the Great against the Vikings.
In the 11th century, a nobleman named Hedgar was appointed as the Sheriff of Lincolnshire by King Edward the Confessor. This appointment is documented in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hedgar gained popularity among the English nobility. Hedgar de Lacy, born in 1135, was a prominent Norman nobleman who served as the Lord of Meath in Ireland and played a significant role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.
In the 16th century, Hedgar Pole, born in 1498, was an English Catholic martyr who was executed for his opposition to the English Reformation and his loyalty to the Catholic Church. He was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1970.
Another notable figure with the name Hedgar was Hedgar Quinet, a French historian and philosopher born in 1803. He was a prominent figure in the French Romantic movement and a vocal advocate for democracy and social reform.
People
Hedgar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hedgar 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
Hedgar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hedgar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hedgar 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Hedgar a common name?
We classify Hedgar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hedgar most popular?
The single biggest year for Hedgar was 2003, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hedgar is about 23 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 Hedgar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hedgar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hedgar 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 Hedgar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hedgar 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 Hedgar 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 Hedgar?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Hedgar at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.