Hedwig
Feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "battle or combat".
Name Census estimates that about 184 living Americans carry the first name Hedwig. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hedwig today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hedwig births was 1918 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hedwig. 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
- • The typical person named Hedwig is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hedwigs were born before 1953.
People living today
184
~ 1 in 1,862,795 Americans
Peak year
1918
159 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1968 SSA rank
#6,517
Tracked since 1880
Census
Hedwig in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,100 people with the first name Hedwig, which placed it at #11,591 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
#11,591
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
94.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hedwig
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hedwig is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Hedwig 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 Hedwig at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 1,038
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 22
- Black or African American1.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 14
- Two or more races0.8% · 9
Popularity
Hedwig: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hedwig from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,090 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hedwig 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 Hedwig during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hedwigs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Hedwig, while Kansas, Iowa, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 106 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hedwig
The given name Hedwig has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically from the Old High German words "hadu" meaning "battle" and "wig" meaning "fight" or "combat". It is believed to have emerged around the 8th or 9th century AD in regions that are now parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hedwig can be found in the medieval hagiographical work "Vita Sanctae Hedwigis" (Life of Saint Hedwig), written in the late 13th century. This text chronicles the life of Saint Hedwig of Andechs (1174-1243), a Bavarian noblewoman who founded several monasteries and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Another notable historical figure named Hedwig was Hedwig of Silesia (1174-1243), also known as Saint Hedwig of Silesia. She was a Polish duchess and a member of the Piast dynasty, renowned for her philanthropy and efforts to promote Christianity in the region.
In the 14th century, Hedwig of Nuremberg (1339-1384) was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire. She was the daughter of the Burgrave of Nuremberg and is remembered for her involvement in the foundation of several religious institutions.
During the 16th century, Hedwig Jagiellon (1457-1513) was a Polish princess and the wife of the Elector of Brandenburg. She played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of Brandenburg and was known for her support of the arts and education.
Another notable figure with this name was Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1636-1715), a Swedish queen consort who served as the regent of Sweden during the minority of her son, King Charles XII, from 1696 to 1697.
Throughout history, the name Hedwig has been particularly popular in Germanic and Slavic regions, with variations such as Hedwig, Hedvika, and Jadwiga found in various cultures and languages. It has also been used as a literary name, appearing in works by authors like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, where Hedwig is the name of Harry Potter's beloved pet owl.
People
Hedwig + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hedwig 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
Hedwig: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hedwig?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hedwig 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 1,862,795 US residents.
Is Hedwig a common name?
We classify Hedwig as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,077 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hedwig most popular?
The single biggest year for Hedwig was 1918, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hedwig is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hedwig in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,100 people with the name Hedwig, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,591 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 Hedwig 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 Hedwig?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hedwig leans strongly female. 1,090 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 17 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Hedwig?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hedwig is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Hedwig most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hedwig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (1,038 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 Hedwig in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hedwig a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hedwig in the SSA data are female. 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 Hedwig still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hedwig 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 Hedwig 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 the name Hedwig?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.