Hud
An Arabic masculine name indicating resolution or determination.
Name Census estimates that about 69 living Americans carry the first name Hud. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hud today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hud births was 1964 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hud. 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 Hud with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hud. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
69
~ 1 in 4,967,454 Americans
Peak year
1964
9 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,406
Tracked since 1964
Census
Hud in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 156 people with the first name Hud, which placed it at #44,397 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
#44,397
National first-name rank
People counted
156
156 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hud
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hud is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Hud 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 Hud at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.9% · 106
- Black or African American13.5% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 10
- Two or more races5.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Popularity
Hud: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hud from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 29 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hud 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 Hud 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 Hud
The name Hud has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, with its origins dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "huda," which means guidance or righteousness. The name is closely associated with the Islamic prophet Hud, who is mentioned in the Quran as a messenger sent to the ancient Arab tribe of 'Ad.
In the Quran, Hud is described as a prophet who preached monotheism and warned his people against idolatry and moral corruption. He is revered in Islamic tradition as a righteous and courageous figure who stood up for divine principles and urged his people to repent and seek forgiveness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hud can be found in the Quran itself, where the prophet is referred to by this name. This lends the name a significant historical and religious significance within the Islamic faith.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Hud. One of the earliest recorded was Hud ibn Munabbih, a prominent Arab scholar and scholar of Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) who lived in the 7th century CE. He is known for his work in compiling and interpreting Islamic traditions and teachings.
Another notable figure was Hud al-Din al-Kirmani, a 12th-century Persian philosopher and mystic. He was a prominent figure in the Sufi tradition and is remembered for his contributions to Islamic philosophy and spirituality.
In the 13th century, Hud ibn Yahya al-Mu'tazili was a renowned Arab philosopher and theologian. He was a prominent figure in the Mu'tazilite school of Islamic theology, known for their emphasis on rationalism and free will.
Moving forward in time, Hud ibn Muhammad al-Salimi was a 16th-century Omani scholar and poet. He was highly respected for his knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and his contribution to Arabic literature.
More recently, Hud Shudari was a 20th-century Sudanese poet and writer. Born in 1913, he was a prominent figure in the literary and cultural renaissance of Sudan, and his works explored themes of identity, nationalism, and social issues.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Hud, highlighting its deep roots in Islamic culture and its association with scholarship, philosophy, and religious tradition.
People
Hud + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hud 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
Hud: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hud?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 69 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hud 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 4,967,454 US residents.
Is Hud a common name?
We classify Hud as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hud most popular?
The single biggest year for Hud was 1964, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hud is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hud in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 156 people with the name Hud, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,397 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 Hud 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 Hud?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hud leans strongly male. 146 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 9 female bearers (5.8%). 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 Hud?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hud is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Hud most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hud in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.9% (106 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 Hud in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hud a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hud 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 Hud still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hud 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 Hud 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 Hud?
You can see how many people have the name Hud on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.