Hugh ( given name ) - wikipedia Hugh ( given name ) Hugh Pronunciation / ˈhjuː / Gender Male Language ( s ) English Origin Meaning Mind, Spirit Region of origin England Other names Alternative spelling Hughes Nickname ( s ) Huey Related names Hugues, Hugo, Huig, Hauke, Huw, Ugo For other uses, see Hugh. Hugh 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 ( as in Italian ). 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 German Hugo and Uwe, 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 ( see Hughes ( surname ), Hughes ( given name ) ). People Hugh Dancy ( born 1975 ), English actor Hugh Grant ( born 1960 ), English actor Hugh Hefner ( 1926 -- 2017 ), American adult magazine publisher Hugh Jackman ( born 1968 ), Australian actor Hugh Laurie ( born 1959 ), English actor Hugh O'Brian ( 1925 -- 2016 ), American actor Hugh G. Parker, Jr. ( 1934 -- 2007 ), American architect Hugh Robertson ( basketball ) ( born 1989 ), American basketball player Hugh Walpole ( 1884 -- 1941 ), English novelist Hugh Hopper ( 1945 -- 2009 ), English musician, Bassist References Jump up ^ Hanks, Patrick ; Hodges, Flavia ( 2006 ). Hardcastle, Kate, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Names ( 2nd ed. ). Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 861060 - 1. Jump up ^ E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch ( 1856 ), 750. Jump up ^ Site of `` Géopatronym '' : repartition of the births with the surname `` Hue '' until 1915 in the 5 Norman `` départements '' Seine - Maritime ( 76 ), Calvados ( 14 ), Manche ( 50 ), Eure ( 27 ) and Orne ( 61 ) Jump up ^ Hanks, Patrick ; Hodges, Flavia ( 2003 ), A Dictionary of First Names ( epub ) format = requires url = ( help ), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198606052 See also Hugh ( disambiguation ) Page titles beginning with `` Hugh '' Huginn Hyglac Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hugh_(given_name)&oldid=814592499 '' Categories : English masculine given names Hidden categories : Pages using citations with format and no URL Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Română Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2017, at 19 : 26. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the meaning of the name hugh
Answer: Mind, Spirit