Hudson
A masculine name of English origin meaning "son of Hugh".
Roughly 105,365 people in the United States go by the first name Hudson, which ranks #22 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. It is a predominantly male name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Hudson today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hudson births was 2024 (8,073 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Preston (105,045).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hudson. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hudson with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Hudson is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,799 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Hudson is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
105K
~ 1 in 3,253 Americans
Peak year
2024
8,073 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#22
Tracked since 1880
Census
Hudson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 65,103 people with the first name Hudson, which placed it at #767 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#767
National first-name rank
People counted
65K
65,103 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
21.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hudson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hudson is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hudson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hudson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 55,698
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 3,628
- Two or more races5.3% · 3,441
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 1,090
- Black or African American1.5% · 954
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 292
Gender
Gender distribution for Hudson
Hudson leans heavily male at 98.3% of total registrations, but 1,799 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hudson as a male name
- Ranked #22 in 2024
- 7,990 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (7,990 births)
Hudson as a female name
- Ranked #2,248 in 2024
- 83 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (128 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hudson leans strongly male. 63,802 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 1,300 female bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Hudson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hudson from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 52,434 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hudson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hudson by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hudson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hudsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Hudson, while District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,032 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hudson
The name Hudson has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the combination of two words: "hūs" meaning house, and "dūn" meaning hill or down. This suggests that the name originally referred to a person who lived on a hill or near a particular house.
In its early forms, the name was spelled as "Hudsund" or "Hudsonde" in ancient records dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of England, particularly in areas such as Yorkshire and Lancashire.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Hudson was Sir Henry Hudson, an English explorer and navigator who lived from around 1565 to 1611. He is renowned for his numerous voyages to the Arctic regions, including the discovery of the Hudson River and Hudson Bay, which were both named after him.
Another notable figure was Hendrick Hudson, a Dutch explorer born around 1565, who is often confused with his English counterpart, Sir Henry Hudson. Hendrick Hudson is credited with exploring the Hudson River, which later became part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland.
In the literary world, Hudson Strode (1892-1976) was an American author and educator known for his biographies of notable figures such as Woodrow Wilson and Ethan Allen.
Moving to the realm of music, Hudson Whittaker (1931-1981) was an American singer and songwriter who co-wrote the hit song "Tainted Love" for the band Soft Cell.
In more recent history, Hudson Yang (born 2003) is an American actor best known for his role as Eddie Huang in the sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat."
While these examples highlight the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals named Hudson, it is important to note that the name has been used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and historical significance.
People
Hudson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hudson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hudson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hudson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105,365 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hudson going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,253 US residents.
Is Hudson a common name?
We classify Hudson as "Common". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 107,462 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hudson most popular?
The single biggest year for Hudson was 2024, when 8,073 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hudson is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hudson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 65,103 people with the name Hudson, or 21.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #767 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hudson in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hudson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hudson leans strongly male. 63,802 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 1,300 female bearers (2.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hudson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hudson is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hudson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hudson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (55,698 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hudson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hudson a male name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Hudson in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hudson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hudson in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hudson can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Hudson?
See how many Americans are named Hudson on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.