HUGHS
Hughs is a surname of Germanic origin, derived from the personal name Hugh, which in turn comes from the Germanic Hugo, meaning “heart”, “mind” or “spirit”. The surname is patronymic, originally identifying the descendants or relatives of a man named Hugh.
The name Hugh entered Britain with the Normans after the conquest of 1066. It was introduced as the Old French personal name Hue, a short form of Germanic compound names whose first element is hug, meaning heart or mind. The popularity of the name Hugh was partly due to St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140 − 1200), a Burgundian who founded the first Carthusian monastery in England.
Early documentary evidence of the surname appears in several spelling forms, including Hew, Hews, Hewes, Hue, Hugh and Hughes. Notable examples are Richard Hue of Worcester in 1279, Thomas Hughes of Somerset in 1327 and Elizabeth Hewes of Suffolk in 1524. Ann Hughes was christened on 9 October 1586 at St. James church, Clerkenwell, while Merideth Hughes witnessed a deed at St. Michael’s, Cornhill, London, on 1 August 1592. The earliest recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Ralph Howe of Warwickshire in 1221.
In Wales the name evolved into Pugh, a form of ap Hugh meaning “son of Hugh”. In Irish the name became Aodh or Eoghann, and in Scotland it was rendered as Hewes, Hewison or simply Hew. The Welsh form was adopted in England and other parts of the British Isles because of its phonetic similarity to the Welsh word for higher or above.
The surname Hughs remains common in England and Wales and is also found in Ireland. In recent centuries it has spread to the United States, Australia, South Africa and Canada. In the United States it is most frequent in the southern states, a pattern attributed to historical Welsh migration to that region. The name is less common in Wales today than it once was.
Variations of Hughs include Hughes, Hues, Huse, Huges, Hugh, Hugo and Hughe. These variants share the same origin and meaning, and the surname’s spelling has changed over centuries due to regional accents, phonetic translations and immigration.
Typical given names associated with the Hughs surname
Male
- Clifford
- David
- Gareth
- Gary
- Ian
- James
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
- Roger
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Alison
- Emma
- Gemma
- Jacqueline
- Kelly
- Linda
- Marnie
- Mary
- Nerys
- Nicolette
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Srobbar
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Hughs in...
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There are approximately 138 people named Hughs in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around two in a million people in Britain are named Hughs.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
