Find out how popular the last name Hughes is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hughes.

Hughes, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hughes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hughes in America

Hughes is the 90th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hughes surname appeared 236,271 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 80 people would have the surname Hughes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hughes to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hughes

The surname Hughes originated in Wales, derived from the Welsh personal name Hugh or Huw. This was a very popular name among the Welsh, drawn from the Norman French name "Hugo," which in turn came from the Germanic word "hug" meaning heart, mind, or spirit. The surname first appeared in records in the 12th century.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Hughe, found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191. Other early spellings included Hugges, Huggis, and Huggess. Over time, the name evolved into its modern spelling of Hughes.

The Hughes surname was particularly prevalent in the historic counties of Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, and Denbighshire in North Wales, as well as in the counties of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire in South Wales. Several place names in these regions, such as Hughe's Clough and Hughe's Dale, suggest the presence of early Hughes families.

In the famous Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the Hughes surname, as it had not yet emerged. However, the book does mention individuals with the personal name Hugh, indicating the name's early usage in Britain.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Hughes surname was Rhys ap Hugh, a Welsh nobleman who lived in the late 13th century and served as a member of the council of Prince Llewelyn the Last.

Sir Edward Hughes (1720-1794) was a prominent British naval officer who played a significant role in the Anglo-French War and the American Revolutionary War. He was knighted for his service in 1783.

Richard Hughes (1900-1976) was a renowned Welsh novelist and writer, best known for his semi-autobiographical novel "A High Wind in Jamaica."

Howard Hughes (1905-1976) was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, and filmmaker, famous for his eccentric behavior and his pioneering role in the aviation industry.

Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was an influential English poet and author, who served as the Poet Laureate of England from 1984 until his death. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant poets of the 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hughes

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hughes.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hughes was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hughes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hughes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hughes, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!