Hughston
Of English origin, a place name derived from a combination of words meaning "Hugh's town".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Hughston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hughston today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hughston births was 2017 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hughston. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hughston. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
2017
10 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,408
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Hughston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hughston 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 43 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hughston remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hughston 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 Hughston 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 Hughston
The name Hughston is believed to have originated from the Old English language, which was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons in England from the 5th to the 11th century AD. It is a combination of two elements: "hug," meaning heart or mind, and "stan," meaning stone or rock. The name can be interpreted to mean "firm-hearted" or "resolute in spirit."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Hughston can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and resources in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It lists a landowner named Hughston de Montfort, who held estates in the county of Warwickshire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hughston was relatively uncommon but appeared occasionally in historical records. One notable figure was Hughston of Stratton, a 13th-century monk and scholar who wrote extensively on theology and philosophy.
In the 16th century, the name gained some prominence with the birth of Hughston Shelley (1508-1573), an English landowner and Member of Parliament. He was a distant relative of the renowned Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Another significant figure was Hughston Cromwell (1592-1657), a military leader and cousin of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Hughston Cromwell played a crucial role in several battles during the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, Hughston Broughton (1701-1789) was a notable English boxer and promoter, often referred to as the "Father of Boxing." He was instrumental in establishing rules and regulations for the sport, which helped elevate its popularity and respectability.
Moving into the 19th century, Hughston Tindall (1826-1904) was a prominent American politician and lawyer from South Carolina. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and played a significant role in the Reconstruction era following the American Civil War.
While the name Hughston has become less common in modern times, it remains a unique and historically significant name with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
People
Hughston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hughston 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
Hughston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hughston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hughston 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Hughston a common name?
We classify Hughston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hughston most popular?
The single biggest year for Hughston was 2017, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hughston is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hughston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hughston 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.