The Hughes surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 229,390 people carried this name — #83 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,180 people counted.
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In Switzerland’s population statistics
222 people named Hughes live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 139 people named Hughes.
Most of them — 100 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Guadeloupe.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
84 people named Hughes have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 245 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 36 people named Hughes live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Hughes in American newspapers,
1906–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,613,589 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Hughes,
with a public archive behind them.
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Margaret Hughes 1645–1719 · actor -
Victor Hugues 1762–1826 · sailor -
Christopher Hughes 1786–1849 · lawyer -
George Wurtz Hughes 1806–1870 · politician -
James Hughes 1823–1873 · judge
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 197 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Hughes.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Hughes is.
A volume says what happened to it.
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