surnames.ie

Irish surname · 44th most common in 1911

Hughes

In Ireland, Hughes is usually an English form of Ó hAodha, 'descendant of Aodh', a name meaning 'fire'. Woulfe says Ó hAodha became Hughes in the north and Hayes in the south. Hughes is also a separate Welsh and English surname, meaning 'son of Hugh'.

Irish Ó hAodhaIrish Mac Aodha
1901 census
11,736
#47 · 27 per 10,000
1911 census
11,657
#44 · 27 per 10,000
1926 census
6,556
#75 · 22 per 10,000
Most numerous
Dublin
Highest share: Armagh

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic & Welsh/English (merged) Mainly Gaelic Irish (Ó hAodha) in Ireland, merged with the unrelated Welsh and English patronymic Hughes, 'son of Hugh'.[1][2]

Ó hAodha
“descendant of Aodh”[1][3]
The usual Irish source of Hughes. Woulfe and Wikipedia both describe it as the surname of many unrelated families; in the north it was generally rendered Hughes, in the south Hayes, and in Co. Cork O'Hea.
Mac Aodha
“son of Aodh”[4]
Woulfe lists Hughes among the English forms of this name, alongside MacHugh, MacKay and MacCoy, so some Irish Hughes families may descend from a Mac Aodha rather than an Ó hAodha. MacHugh itself is treated on this site as a separate family.

The name is built on the personal name Aodh, usually explained as “fire”. Aodh was one of the most popular Gaelic personal names and was usually anglicised Hugh, which is why Ó hAodha could become Hughes. Wikipedia notes that the Welsh name Hu or Huw, behind the Welsh Hughes, is also glossed 'fire' or 'inspiration', though the two names are not related.[1][4][3][2]

Pronunciation

Hughes: HYOOZ

Place

Where the Hughess lived

How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.

Donegal: 7.4 per 10,000 (124 people) Waterford: 4.4 per 10,000 (36 people) Dublin: 31.9 per 10,000 (1,534 people) Kilkenny: 13.3 per 10,000 (100 people) Carlow: 31.9 per 10,000 (116 people) Limerick: 5.1 per 10,000 (73 people) Louth: 73.2 per 10,000 (461 people) Tipperary: 9.4 per 10,000 (143 people) Roscommon: 21 per 10,000 (197 people) Meath: 28.2 per 10,000 (184 people) Wicklow: 28.9 per 10,000 (176 people) Cavan: 12.4 per 10,000 (113 people) Cork: 2.3 per 10,000 (90 people) Clare: 0.6 per 10,000 (6 people) Galway: 27.8 per 10,000 (507 people) Mayo: 53.4 per 10,000 (1,026 people) Sligo: 4.2 per 10,000 (33 people) Leitrim: 0.3 per 10,000 (2 people) Offaly: 14.6 per 10,000 (83 people) Laois: 17.7 per 10,000 (97 people) Kildare: 35.7 per 10,000 (239 people) Kerry: 1.4 per 10,000 (23 people) Monaghan: 98.8 per 10,000 (707 people) Wexford: 27.3 per 10,000 (280 people) Longford: 60.7 per 10,000 (266 people) Westmeath: 41.9 per 10,000 (252 people) Tyrone: 69.3 per 10,000 (990 people) Antrim: 25.3 per 10,000 (1,207 people) Armagh: 122.7 per 10,000 (1,468 people) Fermanagh: 12.7 per 10,000 (77 people) Londonderry: 14.7 per 10,000 (205 people) Down: 27.5 per 10,000 (842 people)
fewerup to 128 per 10,000

Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.

Highest concentration · 1911

Armagh

123 per 10,000

1,468 Hughess · 4.62× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Armagh 123
  2. Monaghan 99
  3. Louth 73
  4. Tyrone 69
  5. Longford 61
  6. Mayo 53
  7. Westmeath 42
  8. Kildare 36

Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.

County figures as a table
County190119111926Per 10k 1901Per 10k 1911Per 10k 1926
Antrim1,1591,207—2525—
Armagh1,5951,468—128123—
Carlow14011686383225
Cavan11511399121212
Clare8612111
Cork7090103223
Donegal11812491776
Down796842—2828—
Dublin1,2611,5341,684293234
Fermanagh7977—1213—
Galway505507426262825
Kerry52323012
Kildare170239170283629
Kilkenny82100103111315
Laois11997134211826
Leitrim1123201
Limerick847382656
Londonderry213205—1515—
Longford299266224646156
Louth459461394717363
Mayo1,0721,026909545353
Meath211184187302830
Monaghan80070764810899100
Offaly678395111518
Roscommon182197176182121
Sligo433345546
Tipperary12914397897
Tyrone1,124990—7569—
Waterford213640245
Westmeath318252241514243
Wexford291280284282730
Wicklow190176200322935

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Hughess made up the largest share of the population. In Middletown, Co. Armagh, about one resident in 10 was a Hughes.

DEDCountyHughessShare
MiddletownArmagh150 9.9%
GarrymoreMayo107 9.2%
RossleeMayo36 8.9%
CastleshaneMonaghan82 7.4%
DerrynooseArmagh103 6.9%
TehallanMonaghan62 6.8%
MeenaghTyrone88 6.2%
KilteskillGalway27 5.9%

Origins

Septs & territories

Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Hughes lineages described in the sources.

A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.

Ó hAodha of Uí Fiachrach of Ardstraw

Uí Fiachrach of Ardstraw · Tyrone

Woulfe names this Tyrone family first among the Ó hAodha septs, as former lords of the Uí Fiachrach of Ardstraw. Wikipedia likewise places an Ó hAodha family around Ardstraw.[1][3]

Ó hAodha of Eas Ruadh

Eas Ruadh, around Ballyshannon · Donegal

A Tír Conaill family, chiefs of Eas Ruadh in the Ballyshannon district on the River Erne.[1][3]

Ó hAodha of Fearnmhaigh (Farney)

Fearnmhaigh, now the barony of Farney · Monaghan

An Oriel (Airgíalla) family who were chiefs of Fearnmhaigh, the territory now represented by the barony of Farney in Co. Monaghan.[1][3]

Ó hAodha of Ulaid

around Tynan, and in Dál Fiatach · Armagh, Down

Wikipedia adds two further Ulster families not separately named by Woulfe: one of the Ulaid around what is now Tynan in Co. Armagh, and one of the Dál Fiatach in what is now south Co. Down.[3]

Ó hAodha of Odhbha and of Tír Teathbha

Odhbha, near Navan; and East Tír Teathbha · Meath

Woulfe records two Meath families of the name: one lords of Odhbha in the Navan district, the other chiefs of East Tír Teathbha. He gives no further history of either.[1]

Ó hAodha of Uí Deaghaidh

Uí Deaghaidh, roughly the barony of Gorey · Wexford

A Wexford family, chiefs of Uí Deaghaidh, a district that Woulfe says was almost the same as the barony of Gorey. Wikipedia notes that Hughes is still found in Wexford outside its Ulster heartland.[1][2]

Southern and western Ó hAodha families

Muscraighe Luachra and Tuath O Donnghaile in Cork; Thomond; Uí Maine; Uí Fiachrach in Mayo and Sligo · Cork, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo

Woulfe lists six more Ó hAodha families in Munster and Connacht, including two in Co. Cork, a Dalcassian family in Thomond, one of Uí Maine and three of Uí Fiachrach. In these regions the name generally became Hayes, or O'Hea in south-west Cork, rather than Hughes.[1][3]

The name over time

History

From Aodh to Hughes

Aodh, meaning 'fire', was a popular personal name throughout the Gaelic world, and in English it was frequently rendered as Hugh. Its surname Ó hAodha, 'descendant of Aodh', was therefore adopted by many families with no common ancestor. When these names were written in English, Woulfe observed, the northern families mostly became Hughes and the southern ones Hayes. He added that the O' prefix was almost everywhere abandoned, surviving only with the O'Heas of south-west Cork.[1][3][2]

The Ulster septs

Woulfe's list of Ó hAodha families begins with three in the north. One, in Tyrone, had been lords of the Uí Fiachrach of Ardstraw. A second, in Tír Conaill, were chiefs of Eas Ruadh around Ballyshannon. A third, of Oriel, ruled Fearnmhaigh, the modern barony of Farney in Co. Monaghan. Wikipedia adds families in Ulaid and Dál Fiatach, in present-day Armagh and Down. Wikipedia notes that Hughes is especially common in Armagh, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal and Fermanagh, the same part of Ireland where these septs held land.[1][3][2]

Leinster, Munster and Connacht

Ó hAodha families also held land well beyond Ulster. Woulfe records two in Meath, one around Navan and one in East Tír Teathbha, and another in Wexford whose territory of Uí Deaghaidh matched the later barony of Gorey. Further south and west there were Ó hAodha families in Cork, Thomond, Galway, Mayo and Sligo. Most of these became Hayes or O'Hea in English, but Wikipedia notes that Hughes is also found in Wexford, Galway and Cork, so the dividing line between the two spellings was never absolute.[1][2]

The Welsh and English Hughes

Hughes is also an important surname in Britain that has nothing to do with Ó hAodha. In Wales it is a patronymic from Hu or Huw, the Welsh form of Hugh, and Wikipedia notes that in the 1881 British census it was most strongly concentrated in Anglesey and the counties of north Wales. Some English Hughes families instead derive from Hue, an Old French form of the Germanic name Hugo. Because the English spelling is identical, only a family's own history can show which of these origins applies.[2]

Hughes and MacHugh

A further complication is Mac Aodha, 'son of Aodh'. Woulfe lists Hughes among its English forms, along with MacHugh, MacKay, MacKee and MacCoy, and describes the name as very common in Ulster and Connacht. One Mac Aodha family, kin of the O'Flahertys, were chiefs of Clann Choscraigh in the barony of Clare in Co. Galway. MacHugh is treated on this site as its own family, but genealogists should be aware that the two names occasionally overlap.[4]

Places linked to the name

  • Ardstraw (Ard Sratha), Co. Tyrone — Centre of the Uí Fiachrach of Ardstraw, once ruled by an Ó hAodha family.[1][3]
  • Ballyshannon (Béal Átha Seanaidh), Co. Donegal — Town in the district of Eas Ruadh, whose chiefs were an Ó hAodha family of Tír Conaill.[1][3]
  • Farney (Fearnaigh), Co. Monaghan — Barony representing Fearnmhaigh, ruled by the Oriel Ó hAodha family.[1][3]
  • Gorey (barony) (Guaire), Co. Wexford — Barony roughly matching Uí Deaghaidh, territory of the Wexford Ó hAodha chiefs.[1]
  • Navan, Co. Meath — District of Odhbha, whose lords were a Meath Ó hAodha family.[1]

Everyday lives

The Hughess in the census

Who the Hughess were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.

Hughess All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Hughes bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +10.8 points vs Ireland
Hughess 84.4%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −3.4 points vs Ireland
Hughess 9.8%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −6.4 points vs Ireland
Hughess 3.7%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −1.0 points vs Ireland
Hughess 2.1%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 −5.7 points vs Ireland
Hughess 9.6%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 −4.2 points vs Ireland
Hughess 9.3%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties −1.8 points vs Ireland
Hughess 11.7%
All of Ireland 13.5%

58 Hughess spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ −3.9 points vs Ireland
Hughess 76.5%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ −2.6 points vs Ireland
Hughess 83.2%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,496 households lower than Ireland
Hughess 4.68
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Hughess 6.58
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living −1.0 points vs Ireland
Hughess 78.8%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer2,359
Farmer's son885
Farmer's daughter486
General labourer406
Agricultural labourer296
Labourer291
Farm servant266
House keeper242
Farm labourer222
Domestic servant196

Born outside Ireland

3.5% of Hughess in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England236
Scotland88
Wales34
United States31
India6
Canada2

Median age: 24 in 1901, 25 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Hughess

Men and boys

  1. John1,941
  2. James1,698
  3. Patrick1,621
  4. Thomas1,078
  5. Michael941
  6. William711
  7. Peter537
  8. Edward440
  9. Joseph389
  10. Francis291

Women and girls

  1. Mary2,307
  2. Bridget989
  3. Margaret765
  4. Catherine646
  5. Ellen569
  6. Annie559
  7. Elizabeth430
  8. Sarah410
  9. Anne389
  10. Kate349

All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, James, Thomas, Michael; Mary, Bridget, Margaret, Annie, Kathleen.

Spellings

Spellings

This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.

Spelling190119111926Records
Hughes11,73611,6576,556Search

Related forms

  • Hayes — The usual southern rendering of the same Irish name, Ó hAodha.[1][3]
  • O'Hea — The form kept by the Ó hAodha family of south-west Cork, the only branch Woulfe found still using the O' prefix.[1]
  • Hews, Hay, Hays — Other English forms Woulfe gives for Ó hAodha.[1]
  • MacHugh — A distinct surname, Mac Aodha, 'son of Aodh'; Woulfe notes that some of its bearers also used Hughes.[4]

Diaspora

The Hughess abroad

Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Hughes236,27190th

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).

Heraldry

Is there a Hughes coat of arms?

There is no single Hughes crest. Burke's General Armory records many Hughes coats of arms, most belonging to Welsh families in Anglesey, Denbigh, Flint and other counties. A few are Irish: Burke records arms with three griffins' heads for Hughes of Archerstown, Co. Tipperary, motto 'Non sibi sed patriae', and different arms confirmed to the descendants of Robert Hughes of Ely House, Co. Wexford, motto 'Verus amor patriae'. Each belonged only to that family.[5]

Websites selling a single “Hughes family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.

People

Notable people named Hughes

  • John Hughes (1797–1864)
    Tyrone-born first Catholic Archbishop of New York and founder of what became Fordham University.
  • Barney Hughes (1808–1878)
    Armagh-born industrialist, social campaigner and politician.
  • Billy Hughes (1862–1952)
    Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923, leading the country in the First World War.
  • Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948)
    Chief Justice of the United States, governor of New York and US Secretary of State.
  • John Hughes (1865–1941)
    Irish sculptor.
  • Herbert Hughes (1882–1937)
    Irish composer, music critic and collector and arranger of Irish folk songs.
  • Langston Hughes (1901–1967)
    American poet and novelist, a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
  • Howard Hughes (1905–1976)
    American aviator, engineer, film producer and business magnate.
  • Barnard Hughes (1915–2006)
    Irish-American actor who won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
  • Ted Hughes (1930–1998)
    English poet and children's writer, Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.
  • Aaron Hughes (born 1979)
    Northern Irish defender who made 455 Premier League appearances without a red card.
  • Caoilinn Hughes (born 1985)
    Irish novelist and short-story writer.

Questions

Questions about the Hughes name

Is Hughes an Irish surname?

Often, yes. In Ireland Hughes is usually an English form of the Gaelic Ó hAodha, 'descendant of Aodh', which Woulfe says became Hughes in the north and Hayes in the south. But Hughes is also a common Welsh and English name meaning 'son of Hugh', and some Hughes families in Ireland may have British ancestry instead.[1][2]

Is Hughes Irish or Welsh?

It can be either. The Irish Hughes usually comes from Ó hAodha, while the Welsh Hughes comes from Hu or Huw, the Welsh form of Hugh, and is especially associated with Anglesey and north Wales. The two names look identical in English but have separate origins. Some English Hughes families may also take the name from Hue, an Old French form of Hugo.[1][2]

What is Hughes in Irish?

Usually Ó hAodha, 'descendant of Aodh'. Some Hughes families instead come from Mac Aodha, 'son of Aodh', which Woulfe lists with Hughes among its English forms, though that name is more often anglicised MacHugh or MacKay.[1][4]

Are Hughes and Hayes the same name?

In Ireland they are often the same Gaelic surname, Ó hAodha, spelled differently in English. Woulfe says the northern families generally became Hughes and the southern ones Hayes, while the Cork branch became O'Hea. In England, however, Hayes is usually an unrelated place-name surname, so the connection only holds for Irish families.[1][3][6]

Are Hughes and McHugh the same family?

Not as a rule. McHugh is Mac Aodha, 'son of Aodh', while the Irish Hughes is mostly Ó hAodha, 'descendant of Aodh'. Both come from the same personal name, and Woulfe does list Hughes among the English forms of Mac Aodha, so a particular family may have switched. Most Hughes and McHugh families, though, have separate origins.[1][4]

Is there a Hughes family crest or coat of arms?

No single one. Burke's General Armory lists a long run of Hughes arms, most of them for Welsh families. Irish examples include Hughes of Archerstown in Tipperary and the Hughes family of Ely House in Wexford, each with its own arms and motto. These belonged to those families, not to everyone named Hughes.[5]

How do you pronounce Hughes?

It is said 'HYOOZ', exactly like the word 'hues'. Wiktionary gives the pronunciation /hjuːz/ and lists 'hues' as a homophone. The gh is silent.[7]

Where in Ireland is the Hughes surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Hughess lived in Dublin (1,534), Armagh (1,468), Antrim (1,207). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Armagh (123 per 10,000), Monaghan (99 per 10,000), Louth (73 per 10,000).

How common was the Hughes surname in Ireland?

11,657 people were recorded as Hughes in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 44th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 376.

Looking for a Hughes ancestor?

Search every Hughes household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.

Search records on irishcensus.com

Evidence

Sources

  1. Patrick Woulfe, Ó hAodha, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, Hughes (surname) (2026)
  3. Wikipedia, Ó hAodha (2026)
  4. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Aodha, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  5. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries under 'Hughes', including Hughes of Archerstown, co. Tipperary, and Hughes of Ely House, co. Wexford.
  6. Wikipedia, Hayes (surname) (2026)
  7. Wiktionary, Hughes
  8. Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.
  9. Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).

How we compile these figures: methodology.