Houston m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname meaning "
Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow, but this is also the name of a city in Texas, named after the Texas president Sam Houston (1793-1863).
Howard m EnglishFrom an English surname that can derive from several different sources: the Anglo-Norman given name
Huard, which was from the Germanic name
Hughard; the Anglo-Scandinavian given name
Haward, from the Old Norse name
Hávarðr; or the Middle English term
ewehirde meaning "ewe herder". This is the surname of a British noble family, members of which have held the title Duke of Norfolk from the 15th century to the present. A famous bearer of the given name was the American industrialist Howard Hughes (1905-1976).
Hoyt m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Middle English
hoit "stick", originally a nickname for a thin person.
Hranislav m SerbianDerived from the Slavic element
xorniti (Serbo-Croatian
hraniti) meaning "to feed, to protect" combined with
slava meaning "glory".
Hróarr m Old NorseOld Norse name, derived from the element
hróðr "praise, fame" combined with either
geirr "spear" (making it a relation of
Hróðgeirr),
herr "army, warrior" or
varr "aware, cautious". This is the name of a legendary Danish king, the same one who is featured in the Anglo-Saxon poem
Beowulf with the name
Hroðgar.
Hroðgar m Anglo-SaxonFrom Old English
hroð "fame, glory" and
gar "spear", making it a cognate of
Hrodger (see
Roger). The name became unused after the Normans introduced the continental form. In the Old English poem
Beowulf this is the name of the Danish king.
Hruodnand m GermanicFrom the Old German elements
hruod meaning "fame" and
nand meaning "brave". According to some theories, this was the original form of
Roland.
Hua f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
华 (huá) meaning "splendid, illustrious, Chinese" or
花 (huā) meaning "flower, blossom" (which is usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters can form this name as well.
Huan f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
欢 (huān) meaning "happy, pleased", as well as other characters pronounced in a similar way.
Huang m & f ChineseFrom Chinese
煌 (huáng) meaning "bright, shining, luminous" (which is usually only masculine) or
凰 (huáng) meaning "phoenix" (usually only feminine). Other Chinese characters are also possible.
Huangdi m Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow" and
帝 (dì) meaning "god, emperor". This is the Chinese name for the Yellow Emperor, a mythical ruler and deity who is said to have reigned in the 3rd millennium BC. He is regarded as the ancestor of the Chinese people.
Huanglong m Chinese MythologyFrom Chinese
黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow" and
龙 (lóng) meaning "dragon". This is the Chinese name for the Yellow Dragon, who is considered the animal form of the mythical Yellow Emperor
Huangdi.
Hubert m English, German, Dutch, French, Polish, Czech, GermanicMeans
"bright heart", derived from the Old German elements
hugu "mind, thought, spirit" and
beraht "bright". Saint Hubert was an 8th-century bishop of Maastricht who is considered the patron saint of hunters. The Normans brought the name to England, where it replaced an Old English cognate
Hygebeorht. It died out during the Middle Ages but was revived in the 19th century.
Huckleberry m LiteratureFrom the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. It was used by author Mark Twain for the character of Huckleberry (Huck) Finn in his novels
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).
Hudson m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"son of Hudde". A famous bearer of the surname was the English explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611).
Huệ f VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
慧 (huệ) meaning
"bright, intelligent" or
蕙 (huệ) meaning
"tuberose (flower)".
Hugh m EnglishFrom the Germanic name
Hugo, derived from Old Frankish
hugi or Old High German
hugu meaning
"mind, thought, spirit" (Proto-Germanic *
hugiz). It was common among Frankish and French nobility, being borne by Hugh Capet, a 10th-century king of France who founded the Capetian dynasty. The Normans brought the name to England and it became common there, even more so after the time of the 12th-century bishop Saint Hugh of Lincoln, who was known for his charity. This was also the name of kings of Cyprus and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. The name is used in Ireland and Scotland as the Anglicized form of
Aodh and
Ùisdean.
Hughard m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
hugu "mind, thought, spirit" and
hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy".
Hugo m Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, GermanicOld German form of
Hugh. As a surname it has belonged to the French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), the writer of
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and
Les Misérables.
Hui f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
慧 (huì) meaning "intelligent, wise" (which is usually only feminine),
辉 (huī) meaning "brightness", besides other characters that are pronounced similarly.
Huitzilopochtli m Aztec and Toltec MythologyMeans
"left side of the hummingbird" or
"southern hummingbird" in Nahuatl, derived from
huitzilin "hummingbird" and
ōpōchtli "left, south". In Aztec mythology he was the god of the sun and war. He was a patron deity of the city of Tenochtitlan (at the site of modern Mexico City).
Hulda 1 f Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
hulda meaning
"hiding, secrecy". This was the name of a sorceress in Norse mythology. As a modern name, it can also derive from archaic Swedish
huld meaning "gracious, sweet, lovable".
Huldah f BiblicalMeans
"weasel, mole" in Hebrew. This name appears in the Old Testament belonging to a prophetess.
Hulderic m GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
hold "favourable, gracious, graceful, loyal" and
rih "ruler, king".
Humbert m French, German (Rare), English (Rare), GermanicDerived from the Old German elements
hun "bear cub" and
beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it has always been uncommon there. It was the name of a 7th-century Frankish saint who founded Maroilles Abbey. It was also borne by two kings of Italy (called
Umberto in Italian), who ruled in the 19th and 20th centuries. A notable fictional bearer is Humbert Humbert from Vladimir Nabokov's novel
Lolita (1955).
Humphrey m EnglishFrom the Old German elements
hun "bear cub" and
fridu "peace". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate
Hunfrith, and it was regularly used through the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), who starred in
The Maltese Falcon and
Casablanca.
Hunahpu m Mayan MythologyPossibly means
"one blowgunner", from Classic Maya
jun "one" and
puw "blowgun" (with the agentive prefix
aj-). Hunahpu and his twin brother
Xbalanque are the central characters of the
Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya.
Hunor m HungarianDerived from the ethnic term
Hun, which refers to the nomadic people from Central Asia who expanded into Europe in the 4th century. The word
Hun is from Latin
Hunnus, which is possibly of Turkic origin. According to medieval Hungarian legend, the brothers Hunor and Magor were the ancestors of the Huns and the Magyars (Hungarians) respectively.
Hunter m & f EnglishFrom an English occupational surname for a hunter, derived from Old English
hunta. A famous bearer was the eccentric American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005).
Huri m BiblicalMeans
"linen weaver" in Hebrew. This was the name of the father of Abihail in the Old Testament.
Husam m ArabicMeans
"sword" in Arabic, a derivative of the verb
حسم (hasama) meaning "to sever, to finish, to decide".
Husayn m ArabicDiminutive of
Hasan. Husayn ibn Ali (also commonly transliterated
Hussein) was the son of
Ali and the grandson of the Prophet
Muhammad. His older brother was named
Hasan. The massacre of Husayn and his family was a major event in the split between Shia and Sunni Muslims, which continues to this day. In more recent times this was the name of a king of Jordan (1935-1999).
Huxley m English (Modern)From an English surname that was derived from the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer of the surname was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Hwan m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
煥 (hwan) meaning "shining, brilliant, lustrous" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character.
Hyacinthus m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Ὑάκινθος (Hyakinthos), which was derived from the name of the hyacinth flower. In Greek legend Hyakinthos was accidentally killed by the god
Apollo, who mournfully caused this flower to arise from his blood. The name was also borne by several early saints, notably a 3rd-century martyr who was killed with his brother Protus.
Hydra f Astronomy, Greek MythologyMeans
"water serpent" in Greek, related to
ὕδωρ (hydor) meaning "water". In Greek myth this was the name of a many-headed Lernaean serpent slain by
Herakles. It is also the name of a northern constellation, as well as a moon of Pluto.
Hye m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent" or other characters that are pronounced in the same way. Although it does appear rarely as a single-character name, it is more often used in combination with another character. A notable bearer was a 6th-century king of Baekje.
Hye-Jin f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
慧 (hye) meaning "bright, intelligent" or
惠 (hye) meaning "favour, benefit" combined with
珍 (jin) meaning "precious, rare". This name can be formed by a variety of other hanja character combinations as well.
Hyeon m & f KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or other characters that are pronounced similarly. It usually occurs in combination with another character, though it is sometimes used as a stand-alone name.
Hyeon-Jeong f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
炫 (hyeon) meaning "shine, glitter" combined with
廷 (jeong) meaning "courtyard" or
貞 (jeong) meaning "virtuous, chaste, loyal". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
Hyeon-Ju f & m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" and
珠 (ju) meaning "jewel, pearl". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
Hyeon-U m KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
賢 (hyeon) meaning "virtuous, worthy, able" or
顯 (hyeon) meaning "manifest, clear" combined with
祐 (u) meaning "divine intervention, protection" or
雨 (u) meaning "rain". This name can be formed by other hanja character combinations as well.
Hypatia f Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
ὕπατος (hypatos) meaning
"highest, supreme". Hypatia of Alexandria was a 5th-century philosopher and mathematician, daughter of the mathematician Theon.
Hyperion m Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ὑπέρ (hyper) meaning
"over". In Greek myth this was the name of a Titan who presided over the sun and light. By
Theia he was the father of the sun god
Helios, the moon goddess
Selene, and the dawn goddess
Eos.
Hyrum m English (Rare)Variant of
Hiram. This name was borne by Hyrum Smith (1800-1844), an early leader within the Mormon Church.
Hywel m WelshFrom Old Welsh
Higuel meaning
"eminent, prominent" (literally
"well-seen"). This was the name of a few Welsh kings, including the 10th-century Hywel the Good who was known for establishing laws.