Name Hugh - meaning, origin, numerology

Hugh (/ˈhjuː/) is the English-language variant of the masculine given name Hugues, itself the Old French variant of Hugo, a short form of Continental Germanic given names beginning in the element hug- "mind, spirit" (Old English hyġe).

The Germanic name is on record beginning in the 8th century, in variants Chugo, Hugo, Huc, Ucho, Ugu, Uogo, Ogo, Ougo, etc. The name's popularity in the Middle Ages ultimately derives from its use by Frankish nobility, beginning with Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris Hugh the Great (898–956) . The Old French form was adopted into English from the Norman period (e.g. Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury d. 1098; Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, d. 1101).

The spelling Hugh in English is from the Picard variant spelling Hughes, where the orthography -gh- takes the role of -gu- in standard French, i.e. to express the phoneme /g/ as opposed to the affricate /ʒ/ taken by the grapheme g before front vowels. The modern English pronunciation /hju:/ is influenced by the Norman variant form Hue (/hy:/, /y:/), now only a surname, mainly from Normandy.

The Old High German name Hugo was adopted as third declension nominative into Middle Latin (Hugo, Hugonis); in English, however, historical figures of the continental Middle Ages are conventionally given the name in its modern English spelling, as in Hugh Capet (941–996), Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), Hugh of Cluny (1024–1109), Hugh of Châteauneuf (1053–1132), etc.

Modern variants of the name include Dutch Huig, Frisian Hauke, Welsh Huw, Italian Ugo.

In the tradition of anglicisation of Gaelic names by using similar-sounding, but etymologically unrelated replacements, Hugh also serves as a replacement for Aodh and Ùisdean.

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English: of Germanic origin, brought to Britain by the Normans. It is derived from the element hug heart, mind, spirit. Originally, the name was a short form of various compound names containing this element. Little Hugh of Lincoln was a child supposed in the Middle Ages to have been murdered by Jews in about 1255, a legend responsible for several outbursts of anti-Semitism at various times. The story is referred to by Chaucer in The Prioress's Tale. He is not to be confused with St Hugh of Lincoln (1140–1200), bishop of Lincoln (1186–1200), who was noted for his charity and good works, his piety, and his defence of the Church against the State.
In Scotland and Ireland this has been used as an Anglicized form of the Gaelic names Aodh, Ùisdean, and sometimes Eóghan.
Variant: Hugo (Latinized; also used in Dutch and German).
Cognates: French: Hugues. Italian: Ugo. Welsh: Huw.
Feminine form: Scottish: Hughina.

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