Hedy
Of German origin, meaning "prosperous in battle" or "wealthy warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 1,283 living Americans carry the first name Hedy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hedy today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hedy births was 1942 (109 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hedy. 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.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 267,151 Americans
Peak year
1942
109 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,442
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Hedy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hedy from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 796 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hedy 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 Hedy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hedys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Hedy, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 44 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hedy
The name Hedy has its origins in the Germanic languages, derived from the Old High German word "haid" or "heid," meaning "kind, sort, or way." It is related to the Old Norse name "Heidr," which was used to refer to the personification of honor and dignity in Norse mythology. This name gained popularity across various regions of Europe during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hedy can be found in the 9th-century Frankish epic poem "Ludwigslied," which narrates the life of King Louis the Pious. In this work, the name Hedy is mentioned as a female character, although little is known about her historical significance.
In the 14th century, Hedy von Großenhain, a German noblewoman, was documented as the abbess of the Großenhain Convent in Saxony, Germany. Her tenure as the head of this influential religious institution left a notable impact on the local community.
During the Renaissance period, Hedy Glover (c. 1500-1563) was an English poet and translator who gained recognition for her works, including translations of classical texts. She was part of the intellectual circles of her time and contributed to the literary landscape of the era.
In the 19th century, Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000), an Austrian-American actress and inventor, rose to fame as a Hollywood star. Lamarr's groundbreaking work on frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology, which laid the foundations for modern Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communication, earned her recognition as a pioneering inventor.
Another notable figure with the name Hedy was Hedy Epstein (1924-2016), a German-American political activist and Holocaust survivor. Epstein dedicated her life to advocating for human rights, social justice, and peace, and she was widely admired for her tireless efforts.
While the name Hedy may have its roots in the past, it has endured through various eras and cultures, with individuals bearing this name leaving a lasting impact on society in diverse fields, from literature and the arts to science and activism.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Hedy
People
Hedy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hedy 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
Hedy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hedy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hedy 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 267,151 US residents.
Is Hedy a common name?
We classify Hedy as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hedy most popular?
The single biggest year for Hedy was 1942, when 109 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hedy is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hedy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hedy 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.
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.