Hydi
A feminine name of Iranian origin meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Hydi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hydi today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hydi births was 2010 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hydi. 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 Hydi. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
2010
6 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2010 SSA rank
#15,690
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Hydi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hydi from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Hydi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hydi 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 Hydi 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 Hydi
The name Hydi is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian culture, one of the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia, dating back to around 3500 BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "hudu," which means "joy" or "happiness." This suggests that the name Hydi was likely given to children as a symbol of the joy they brought to their families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hydi can be found in a cuneiform tablet from the city of Ur, which dates back to approximately 2500 BCE. The tablet mentions a woman named Hydi-damu, which translates to "Hydi the Exalted One." This provides evidence that the name was in use during the height of the Sumerian civilization.
In the ancient Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known works of literature, there is a character named Hydi-shar, which means "Hydi the Wise." This suggests that the name was associated with wisdom and intelligence in addition to joy and happiness.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Hydi. One of the earliest was Hydi of Carthage, a Carthaginian military leader who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She is said to have played a crucial role in the Punic Wars against the Roman Republic.
Another significant figure was Hydi al-Dimashqi, an Arab philosopher and scientist who lived in the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and optics and is considered one of the most influential scholars of the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 12th century, there was Hydi of Liège, a Flemish nun and mystic who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. She is known for her writings on mystical theology and her visions of the divine.
During the Renaissance, Hydi Bracciolini was an Italian humanist and poet who lived in the 15th century. She was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of Florence and is remembered for her contributions to the revival of classical literature and philosophy.
In more recent times, Hydi Amin was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Despite his controversial and brutal rule, he is a notable figure in Ugandan history.
People
Hydi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hydi 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
Hydi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hydi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hydi 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Hydi a common name?
We classify Hydi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hydi most popular?
The single biggest year for Hydi was 2010, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hydi is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hydi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hydi 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.
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.