Hector
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek. From Latin Hectōr or Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr), from ἕκτωρ (héktōr, “holding fast”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to have, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold; to overpower”). Sometimes used as an anglicization of various Scottish Gaelic names, including Eachann and Eochaid. The thundercloud cluster was named by pilots during the Second World War.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Hector (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Hector has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2014. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2005 | 19 |
| 2006 | 13 |
| 2007 | 17 |
| 2008 | 23 |
| 2009 | 24 |
| 2010 | 23 |
| 2011 | 20 |
| 2012 | 31 |
| 2013 | 22 |
| 2014 | 34 |
| 2015 | 20 |
| 2016 | 32 |
| 2017 | 21 |
| 2018 | 31 |
| 2019 | 28 |
| 2020 | 31 |
| 2021 | 31 |
| 2022 | 21 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 291 |
| 2000 | 297 |
| 2001 | 314 |
| 2002 | 314 |
| 2003 | 324 |
| 2004 | 332 |
| 2005 | 359 |
| 2006 | 371 |
| 2007 | 387 |
| 2008 | 408 |
| 2009 | 443 |
| 2010 | 471 |
| 2011 | 498 |
| 2012 | 531 |
| 2013 | 559 |
| 2014 | 593 |
| 2015 | 621 |
| 2016 | 652 |
| 2017 | 680 |
| 2018 | 712 |
| 2019 | 752 |
| 2020 | 777 |
Hector in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Hector.Hi! My name is Hector.
- Har du träffat Hector? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Hector? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Hector i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Hector this afternoon.
- Hectors mamma är lärare.Hector's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Hectors mamma is Hector's mum.
More names
Questions about Hector
How do you pronounce Hector in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Hector in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Hector mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek. From Latin Hectōr or Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr), from ἕκτωρ (héktōr, “holding fast”), from ἔχω (ékhō, “to have, hold”), from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold; to overpower”). Sometimes used as an anglicization of various Scottish Gaelic names, including Eachann and Eochaid. The thundercloud cluster was named by pilots during the Second World War.
How popular is Hector in Sweden?
21 babies were named Hector in 2022. In 2020, 777 people in Sweden had Hector as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2014 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.