Hector
Usually a surname from the old personal name Hector, ultimately linked either to the classical hero or to a Gaelic name meaning “horse lord.”
The #7,572 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,377 Americans shares it.
Etymology
As a surname, Hector is usually taken from the personal name Hector. In classical tradition, Hector is the Trojan hero in Greek epic, and some older surname books simply treat the name as classical in origin. In Scottish Gaelic contexts, however, the name can reflect Gaelic Eachann/Eachuinn, a native name commonly analyzed as meaning “horse lord” rather than as a direct borrowing from Greek.
History
The surname appears in English and Scottish records as a family name derived from the given name rather than from a place or trade. In Scotland, it is especially associated with Gaelic-speaking families, where Hector may stand for anglicized forms of Eachann or related names. The name also spread more widely through the British Isles and later to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers explained Hector simply as “Defender,” linking it to the famous Trojan prince; Gaelic scholars, by contrast, often connect the Scottish name to a completely different native form, Eachann.
From the historical record
“claim. HECTOR. The personal name, de- rived from classical antiquity. HEDDLE. A local name of Scandina- vian origin. It was variously written Haidale, Hedal, and Heddell. The family held lands in Orkney prior to 1503. B.L.G. HEDGE. See Hedges. HEDGELER. Probably the ffg-iVZarms of”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Hector
- Jonas Hector (b. 1990)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.