Hewey
A variant of the name Hugh, originating from the Germanic name meaning "bright in mind and spirit."
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Hewey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hewey today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hewey births was 1923 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hewey. 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 Hewey is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Heweys were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hewey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
1923
7 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1952 SSA rank
#3,523
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Hewey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hewey from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Hewey remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hewey 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 Hewey 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 Hewey
The given name Hewey is an English variant of the Hebrew name Hugh, which derives from the Germanic name Hugo. The name Hugo is thought to have originated from the Old German word "hug" meaning "heart, mind, or spirit." This suggests that the name Hewey may have been associated with qualities like courage, intellect, or inner strength.
The earliest known record of the name Hewey dates back to the 12th century in England. During this time, the name was likely influenced by the Norman French variation "Hugue." By the 13th century, spellings like "Hew" and "Hewe" became more common in English records.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Hewey was Hewey de Stafford, an English nobleman who lived in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He was a member of the powerful Stafford family and held significant land and titles in Staffordshire.
In the 15th century, Hewey Paynter was a prominent English stained-glass artist and glazier. He is best known for his work on the Great East Window of York Minster, which is considered one of the largest medieval stained-glass windows in the world.
During the Tudor period in the 16th century, Hewey Draper was a notable English merchant and explorer. He was part of an early English expedition to the West Indies and is credited with establishing trade relations with the indigenous populations of the Caribbean.
In the 17th century, Hewey Coleraine was an Irish nobleman and military commander who fought for the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to King Charles I.
Another notable figure with the name Hewey was Hewey Courtney, an English clergyman and academic who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1701 to 1702.
People
Hewey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hewey 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
Hewey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hewey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hewey 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Hewey a common name?
We classify Hewey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hewey most popular?
The single biggest year for Hewey was 1923, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hewey is about 74 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 Hewey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hewey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hewey 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 Hewey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hewey 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 Hewey 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 people are called Hewey?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.