Hektor
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "holding fast" or "steadfast".
Name Census estimates that about 100 living Americans carry the first name Hektor. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hektor today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hektor births was 2009 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hektor. 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 Hektor with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
100
~ 1 in 3,427,543 Americans
Peak year
2009
11 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,037
Tracked since 2005
Census
Hektor in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 144 people with the first name Hektor, which placed it at #46,371 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
#46,371
National first-name rank
People counted
144
144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
50.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hektor
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hektor is Hispanic at 50.0%. The next largest groups are White (44.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Hektor 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 Hektor at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino50.0% · 72
- White44.4% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 5
- Two or more races2.1% · 3
Popularity
Hektor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hektor from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 47 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hektor remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hektor 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 Hektor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hektor
The given name Hektor originated from the ancient Greek language and culture. It is derived from the Greek word "hektōr," which means "to hold" or "to sustain." The name was likely associated with strength, protection, and fortitude.
One of the earliest and most famous references to the name Hektor comes from Greek mythology. In Homer's epic poem, the Iliad, Hektor was a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy during the Trojan War against the Greeks. He was known for his bravery, honor, and devotion to his family and city. Hektor's tragic death at the hands of Achilles is a pivotal moment in the poem.
The name Hektor continued to be used in ancient Greece and throughout the Hellenistic period. It was commonly given to male children in hopes that they would embody the courage and valor associated with the mythological hero. The name eventually spread to other regions influenced by Greek culture, such as parts of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Hektor was Hektor of Ephesus, a Greek grammarian and literary critic who lived in the 2nd century BC. Another notable figure was Hektor of Caesarea, a Roman officer and administrator who served under the Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD.
In later centuries, the name Hektor was adopted by various cultures and civilizations influenced by Greek and Roman traditions. For instance, Hektor Malet (c. 1170-1226) was a French crusader and nobleman who participated in the Fifth Crusade. Hektor Berlioz (1803-1869) was a renowned French Romantic composer best known for his Symphonie Fantastique.
Hektor Malot (1830-1907) was a French writer and author of the popular children's novel "Sans Famille" (Nobody's Boy). Hektor Guimard (1867-1942) was a French architect and a prominent figure in the Art Nouveau movement, famous for his iconic Paris Métro entrances.
People
Hektor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hektor 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
Hektor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hektor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hektor 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 3,427,543 US residents.
Is Hektor a common name?
We classify Hektor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hektor most popular?
The single biggest year for Hektor was 2009, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hektor is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hektor in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 144 people with the name Hektor, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,371 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 Hektor 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 Hektor?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hektor leans strongly male. 148 people counted with this name were male (98.7%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.3%). 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 Hektor?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hektor is Hispanic at 50.0%. The next largest groups are White (44.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Hektor most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hektor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.0% (72 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 Hektor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hektor a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hektor 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 Hektor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hektor 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 Hektor 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 are called Hektor?
You can see how many people have the name Hektor on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.