Hume
A masculine name of Scottish origin meaning "from the river island".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Hume. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hume today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hume births was 1915 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hume. 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 Hume. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1915
7 babies that year
Average age
-
1915 SSA rank
#3,219
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Hume: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Hume 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 Hume during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Hume
The name Hume is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English word "hum" meaning "from the river." The name originated in the Middle Ages as a surname for people who lived near a river or stream. It is believed to have first emerged in the Scottish Lowlands around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hume was in the 13th century when it appeared in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of homage rolls from Scottish nobles pledging allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name was used by several prominent Scottish families during this period, including the Humes of Hume Castle in Berwickshire.
The philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) is perhaps the most famous bearer of this name throughout history. Hume was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known for his highly influential works on empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. His major philosophical works include "A Treatise of Human Nature" and "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding."
Another notable figure with the name Hume was Joseph Hume (1777-1855), a British politician and radical who campaigned for parliamentary reform and the abolition of slavery. He served as a Member of Parliament for over 30 years and was also a noted advocate for free trade and civil liberties.
In the field of literature, Fergus Hume (1859-1932) was a British novelist and playwright best known for his mystery novel "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," which is considered one of the earliest works of detective fiction.
Basil Hume (1923-1999) was a prominent Catholic priest and cardinal in England. He served as the Archbishop of Westminster and was widely respected for his efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and social justice.
Hamilton Hume (1797-1873) was an Australian explorer and navigator who, along with William Hovell, led one of the first overland expeditions from Sydney to the Victorian border in 1824, establishing an important route for early settlers.
People
Hume + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hume 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
Hume: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hume?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hume 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 - US residents.
Is Hume a common name?
We classify Hume as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hume most popular?
The single biggest year for Hume was 1915, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hume is about 0 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 Hume in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hume a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hume 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 Hume still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hume 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 Hume 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 named Hume?
Find out how many people have the name Hume on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.