Nameberry of the Day: Hugo
April 10
Humanist, diplomat, and lawyer Hugo Grotius — also known as Hugo de Groot — was born on April 10, 1583 in the Netherlands.
Hugo has made major contributions to philosophy, political theory, and law — one of his lasting impacts being the notion of humans possessing “rights”, another being his foundation of many of today’s concepts of international law.
Hugo — the Latin form of Hugh, meaning “mind, intellect” — has a charming pan-European feel and an intellectual, sophisticated aura per its meaning.
A favorite amongst Berries and other name nerds, I am always surprised to see that Hugo has been extremely consistent in its rankings in the US for decades, bouncing around the 300-400 mark since the ‘80s.
While some hipster American parents continue to recognize Hugo’s charm, internationally the name gets significantly more love. In the most recent data, Hugo has ranked in the Top 100 in Spain, France, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Belgium.
Feeling right on brand with classmates Theodore, Silas, Henry, and Jasper, and with the -O ending that is propelling modern-day favorites like Leo, Arlo, and Enzo up the charts, maybe Hugo will finally have its time to shine in coming years.
In case you missed these Nameberries of the Day:
Nameberry of the Week: Zuleika
This week’s Name of the Week was nominated by @Rosebeth! If you would like to nominate a name yourself, you can head over to the name of the day thread on our forums. Subscribe Dazzling and dramatic Zuleika — pronounced “zoo-LAY-ka” — is an Arabic girl’s name meaning “