Hulda
A feminine name likely of Germanic origin meaning "battle" or "martial".
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the first name Hulda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hulda today is around 89 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hulda births was 1895 (167 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hulda. 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 Hulda is about 89 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Huldas were born before 1947.
People living today
213
~ 1 in 1,609,175 Americans
Peak year
1895
167 babies that year
Average age
89
years old
1980 SSA rank
#10,951
Tracked since 1880
Census
Hulda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 641 people with the first name Hulda, which placed it at #17,282 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
#17,282
National first-name rank
People counted
641
641 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hulda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hulda is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (21.8%). 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 Hulda 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 Hulda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.3% · 335
- Hispanic or Latino22.0% · 141
- Black or African American21.8% · 140
- Two or more races2.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 11
Popularity
Hulda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hulda from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1890s, with 1,374 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1890s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hulda 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 Hulda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Huldas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Hulda, while Oklahoma, California, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hulda
The name Hulda has its origins in the Old Norse language, derived from the word "huldr," which means "covered" or "hidden." It is believed to have been used as a feminine name during the Viking Age, roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries, in Scandinavia and other areas where Norse culture had a presence.
The name Hulda is also found in Old German and Old English, with similar spellings like "Hulde" and "Huldu." In these languages, the name carried connotations of secrecy, mystery, and the supernatural, often associated with the concept of a "hidden woman" or a protective spirit.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hulda appears in the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems dating back to the 13th century. In the poem "Völuspá," a seeress named Hulda is mentioned, further solidifying the name's connection to mysticism and prophetic abilities in Norse mythology.
In the Middle Ages, the name Hulda gained popularity in certain regions of Germany and Scandinavia. One notable figure was Hulda of Rosenberg (c. 1360-1436), a noblewoman and landowner from present-day Germany, who played a significant role in the governance of her lands and the protection of her subjects during times of conflict.
Another historical figure with the name Hulda was Hulda Lütken (1825-1892), a Norwegian author and educator who wrote extensively on women's rights and advocated for educational reform in her country. Her works and activism contributed to the advancement of the women's movement in Norway during the 19th century.
In the field of science, Hulda Regårdh (1880-1957) was a Swedish botanist and educator who made significant contributions to the study of plant anatomy and morphology. Her research on plant development and adaptation to different environments earned her recognition in the scientific community of her time.
The name Hulda also appeared in literature, with Hulda Garborg (1862-1934) being a prominent Norwegian author and playwright. Her works often explored themes of rural life, folklore, and the struggles of women in a patriarchal society, making her an influential figure in Norwegian literature.
Another notable figure with the name Hulda was Hulda Lehmann (1853-1923), a German-born American astronomer who worked at the Harvard College Observatory. She made significant contributions to the study of variable stars and was responsible for the discovery of several new variable stars during her career.
People
Hulda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hulda 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
Hulda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hulda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hulda 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 1,609,175 US residents.
Is Hulda a common name?
We classify Hulda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,407 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hulda most popular?
The single biggest year for Hulda was 1895, when 167 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hulda is about 89 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hulda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 641 people with the name Hulda, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,282 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 Hulda 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 Hulda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hulda appears almost entirely female. Of the 635 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Hulda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hulda is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.0%) and Black (21.8%). 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 Hulda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hulda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.3% (335 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 Hulda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hulda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hulda in the SSA data are female. 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 Hulda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hulda 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 Hulda 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 named Hulda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.