An English and Welsh surname of Hughes means the son of Hugh. The Germanic name of Hugh means heart and mind, in reference to Saint Hugh. It can also mean fire. For the Irish version it was written O’Hay. The Welsh spelling form for Hughes is Howells.

Additional spellings for Hughes are Hughs, Pugh, Hayes, Hews, Hugh and Hughe.

In Ireland the surname is in Galway, Cork, Wexford and Donegal counties.

In England the Hughes surname is concentrated in Lancashire county and then some other counties just south of Lancashire. It is also very common in the northern Wales region especially along the coast.

Within the United States the northeast region has many with the Hughes surname. Hughes are in Ohio and Illinois also.


Famous: Howard R. Hughes (aviator, industrialist and film maker), David Edward Hughes (19th century English inventor of the microphone), Arwel Hughes (Welsh music composer and conductor), Russell S. Hughes (TV and film screen writer), Phil Hughes (professional baseball player), Langston Hughes (poet), Henry Hughes (19th century locomotive builder), Eddie Hughes (professional basketball player) and Alex Hughes (cartoonist).