Head to head · Boys' names
Hector vs Remy
#409 vs #408 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Remy is a whisker ahead (#408 vs #409 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Hector leads 3 measures of 6; Remy leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Hector #672, Remy — — Hector higher
- 1890s: Hector #695, Remy — — Hector higher
- 1900s: Hector #690, Remy — — Hector higher
- 1910s: Hector #607, Remy #3154 — Hector higher
- 1920s: Hector #512, Remy #3387 — Hector higher
- 1930s: Hector #420, Remy #3662 — Hector higher
- 1940s: Hector #385, Remy #3370 — Hector higher
- 1950s: Hector #273, Remy #2905 — Hector higher
- 1960s: Hector #242, Remy #2821 — Hector higher
- 1970s: Hector #192, Remy #3437 — Hector higher
- 1980s: Hector #176, Remy #2099 — Hector higher
- 1990s: Hector #168, Remy #1470 — Hector higher
- 2000s: Hector #187, Remy #1297 — Hector higher
- 2010s: Hector #292, Remy #629 — Hector higher
- 2020s: Hector #376, Remy #378 — Hector higher
Hector stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hector | Remy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #672 | — |
| 1890s | #695 | — |
| 1900s | #690 | — |
| 1910s | #607 | #3154 |
| 1920s | #512 | #3387 |
| 1930s | #420 | #3662 |
| 1940s | #385 | #3370 |
| 1950s | #273 | #2905 |
| 1960s | #242 | #2821 |
| 1970s | #192 | #3437 |
| 1980s | #176 | #2099 |
| 1990s | #168 | #1470 |
| 2000s | #187 | #1297 |
| 2010s | #292 | #629 |
| 2020s | #376 | #378 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Hector
holding fast, steadfast
From the Greek Hektor, built on the verb ekhein, to hold or hold fast.
Hektor (Greek) → Hector (Latin, French) → Héctor (Spanish) → Heitor (Portuguese)
How it traveled
The name belongs first to the Iliad, composed in Greek around the eighth century BC, where Hector is the eldest son of Priam and the man who holds Troy together until Achilles kills him. Medieval Europe took him up as one of the Nine Worthies, a set of model heroes ranked alongside Alexander and Caesar, which carried the name into French, Italian and Spanish use.
Remy
oarsman, rower
From Latin Remigius, built on remex, remigis — the man at the oar. The saint's fame in Gaul, not the word itself, is what carried the name forward.
Remigius → Rémi → Rémy → Remy
How it traveled
The Latin Remigius belonged most famously to the bishop of Reims who died around 533 and who baptized the Frankish king Clovis, an event that anchored the name in northern France for good. Medieval French wore it down to Rémi and Rémy, and the accent-free Remy is simply what the name looks like once English gets hold of it.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Hector
HEK-ter
In Spanish, Héctor is EK-tor with a silent h and the stress still on the first syllable. Both readings are standard; households that use both often simply switch.
- Heck — The usual English short form, informal and family-only; rarely written down.
- Hec — A spoken clipping among English speakers, informal.
- Tor — Occasional English shortening from the second syllable.
Remy
REM-ee
Standard in American English, stress on the first syllable. The French Rémy is ray-MEE, with the stress at the back — worth deciding which one you want before the name is handed to a room full of relatives.
- Rem — The obvious clipped form; used informally and rarely written on anything official.
- Remmy — A doubled-consonant spelling used affectionately, mostly by family.
- Rey — Occasional, and stands on its own as a given name elsewhere.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Hector if you want…
- a long American recordHector was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Remy if you want…
- a newer arrivalRemy entered the US charts in 1914
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Hector
Strengths
- One spelling works in English and Spanish alike — only the accent mark on Héctor changes, and nobody needs it spelled out.
- Documented continuously since Homer, which puts it outside the reach of any single fashion.
- Familiar in most of the world through Ettore, Heitor and Héctor, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- English has a verb to hector, meaning to bully or browbeat. It comes from the name, by way of seventeenth-century London street gangs who styled themselves after the hero. Most people never make the connection, but a reader or teacher occasionally will.
- In the Iliad, Hector is the most sympathetic figure in the poem and also the one who loses. If your family knows the story well, the name carries that ending with it.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations differ enough that a child may spend some years correcting people in one direction or the other — a small, lifelong bit of admin rather than a problem.
Remy
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, and spelled the way an English speaker hears it — no accent to lose in forms and databases.
- Works for a girl or a boy without either use looking like a mistake, since American records carry both.
- A documented line running back to late-antique Gaul, with living forms in French, Italian, Spanish and Polish.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete: the English REM-ee and the French ray-MEE. Both are correct for the name, so expect to correct people occasionally, and expect the correction to be easy.
- Rémy Martin cognac and the cooking rat in Pixar's Ratatouille are the two associations most Americans reach for first. Neither is a problem, but you will hear about them.
- The spelling splits three ways — Remy, Remi, Rémy — so the name will sometimes be written back to you in a form you didn't choose.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Hector and Remy in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Hector and Remy?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names with only one spelling
- Hero and god names for boys
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Names ending in -or
- all guides
Where Hector and Remy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hector or Remy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hector or Remy?
- Remy, in 2025: Remy ranked #408 with 781 babies; Hector ranked #409 with 779 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hector or Remy?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Hector moved down 44 places; Remy moved down 52 places.
- Which is the older name, Hector or Remy?
- Hector was already in use when US records began in 1880; Remy entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Hector is the older name.
- How many people are named Hector and Remy?
- About 97,000 people named Hector are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,500 people named Remy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hectors or Remys in the classroom?
- Hector will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remy will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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