Huey
A diminutive form of the Germanic name Hugh, meaning "bright in mind and spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 3,187 living Americans carry the first name Huey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Huey today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Huey births was 1935 (494 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Huey. 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
3.2K
~ 1 in 107,548 Americans
Peak year
1935
494 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,917
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Huey
Out of the 7,060 babies given the name Huey since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Huey as a male name
- Ranked #2,917 in 2024
- 43 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1935 (494 births)
Huey as a female name
- Ranked #5,024 in 1928
- 5 female births in 1928
- Peak: 1928 (5 births)
Popularity
Huey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Huey from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 2,169 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Huey 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 Huey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hueys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Louisiana, Alabama, Texas recorded the most babies named Huey, while Virginia, Michigan, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 243 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Huey
The given name Huey has its origins in the Germanic language family. It is derived from the Old Frankish name Hugho, which is believed to have meant "heart, mind, or soul." The name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 5th to 10th centuries.
Huey was initially popular among the Frankish tribes that inhabited parts of modern-day France, Germany, and the Low Countries. Over time, it spread to other regions of Europe, particularly during the Frankish expansion under the Carolingian dynasty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Huey can be found in the Annales Regni Francorum, a historical chronicle from the late 8th century, which mentions a Frankish nobleman named Hugho. However, it is unclear whether this was a reference to the given name or a surname.
In the 11th century, the name gained prominence in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Norman French variant of the name, Hugue, was brought to England by the Norman nobility and gradually anglicized to Huey.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Huey. One of the most famous was Huey P. Long (1893-1935), an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana and was known for his populist policies and Share Our Wealth program.
Another notable Huey was Huey Newton (1942-1989), an African American political activist and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary socialist organization that advocated for Black empowerment and self-defense.
In the realm of music, Huey P. Meaux (1929-2011) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his work with Sir Douglas Quintet and producing the hit song "She's About a Mover" by the Sir Douglas Quintet.
Huey Lewis (born 1950) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, and actor, known for his successful band Huey Lewis and the News and hits like "The Power of Love" and "Hip to Be Square."
Lastly, Huey Long (1904-1964), a professional baseball player, had a brief career in Major League Baseball, playing for the New York Giants and Boston Red Sox in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
People
Huey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Huey 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
Huey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Huey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,187 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Huey 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 107,548 US residents.
Is Huey a common name?
We classify Huey as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,060 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Huey most popular?
The single biggest year for Huey was 1935, when 494 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Huey is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Huey a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Huey 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.
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.