Hero
A name originating from Greek mythology, meaning a person celebrated for courage and outstanding achievements.
Name Census estimates that about 946 living Americans carry the first name Hero. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Hero today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hero births was 2022 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hero. 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 Hero with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
946
~ 1 in 362,320 Americans
Peak year
2022
82 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,342
Tracked since 2000
Census
Hero in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 712 people with the first name Hero, which placed it at #15,985 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
#15,985
National first-name rank
People counted
712
712 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
36.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hero
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hero is White at 36.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (26.4%) and Hispanic (13.3%). 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 Hero 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 Hero at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White36.2% · 258
- Asian and Pacific Islander26.4% · 188
- Hispanic or Latino13.3% · 95
- Black or African American12.9% · 92
- Two or more races10.0% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Hero
Hero is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 953 total registrations, 739 (77.5%) were male and 214 (22.5%) were female.
Hero as a male name
- Ranked #2,342 in 2024
- 60 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (70 births)
Hero as a female name
- Ranked #16,132 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (22 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hero on both sides of the split. Of the 714 people counted with this name, 488 were male (68.3%) and 226 were female (31.7%).
Popularity
Hero: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hero 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 463 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hero remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hero 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 Hero during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heros live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Hero, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hero
The name Hero originated from the ancient Greek language. It derives from the word "heros" which means "protector" or "defender." The name can be traced back to ancient Greek mythology and literature from around the 8th century BC.
In Greek mythology, a hero was a figure of great strength and courage, often favored by the gods and revered for their noble deeds. Some of the most famous heroes from Greek mythology include Hercules, Achilles, and Odysseus. These mythological heroes were central characters in epic poems and stories that were passed down through oral traditions.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hero is found in the ancient Greek play "Hero and Leander" written by the poet Musaeus around the 5th century AD. The play tells the tragic love story of Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, and Leander, a young man from Abydos.
In the Middle Ages, the name Hero gained popularity in Europe, particularly in regions influenced by Greek culture and literature. One notable historical figure with this name was Hero of Alexandria, a renowned Greek mathematician, physicist, and engineer who lived in the 1st century AD. She is credited with developing the first steam-powered engine and writing influential works on mechanics and mathematics.
During the Renaissance period, the name Hero became associated with ideals of bravery, courage, and heroism. One famous bearer of this name was Girolamo Gerolamo Fracastoro, an Italian physician, poet, and scholar who lived from 1478 to 1553. He is known for his contributions to the study of infectious diseases and for coining the term "syphilis."
In the 19th century, the name Hero gained popularity in English-speaking countries, likely influenced by the romantic and heroic themes in literature and art of that era. One notable figure with this name was Hero Tyndale, an English writer and activist who lived from 1822 to 1891. She was a prominent advocate for women's rights and education.
Another historical figure with the name Hero was Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, an English actor and model born in 1997. He is best known for his portrayal of Hardin Scott in the "After" film series, based on the popular young adult novels.
Throughout history, the name Hero has been associated with bravery, courage, and heroic ideals. While its origins can be traced back to ancient Greek mythology and literature, the name has been embraced across cultures and eras, serving as a powerful symbol of strength and resilience.
People
Hero + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hero 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
Hero: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hero?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 946 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hero 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 362,320 US residents.
Is Hero a common name?
We classify Hero as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 953 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hero most popular?
The single biggest year for Hero was 2022, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hero is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hero in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 712 people with the name Hero, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,985 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 Hero 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 Hero?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hero on both sides of the split. Of the 714 people counted with this name, 488 were male (68.3%) and 226 were female (31.7%). 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 Hero?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hero is White at 36.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (26.4%) and Hispanic (13.3%). 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 Hero most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.2% (258 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 Hero in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hero a male name?
Yes, 77.5% of people registered as Hero 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 Hero still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hero 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 Hero 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 Hero?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.