Head to head · Boys' names
Hector vs Rhys
#409 vs #410 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Hector is a whisker ahead (#409 vs #410 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 5 measures of 6; Rhys leads 1.
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, Rhys — — Hector higher
- 1890s: Hector #695, Rhys — — Hector higher
- 1900s: Hector #690, Rhys — — Hector higher
- 1910s: Hector #607, Rhys — — Hector higher
- 1920s: Hector #512, Rhys #2980 — Hector higher
- 1930s: Hector #420, Rhys — — Hector higher
- 1940s: Hector #385, Rhys #3127 — Hector higher
- 1950s: Hector #273, Rhys #2667 — Hector higher
- 1960s: Hector #242, Rhys #2598 — Hector higher
- 1970s: Hector #192, Rhys #3891 — Hector higher
- 1980s: Hector #176, Rhys #1931 — Hector higher
- 1990s: Hector #168, Rhys #1494 — Hector higher
- 2000s: Hector #187, Rhys #908 — Hector higher
- 2010s: Hector #292, Rhys #479 — Hector higher
- 2020s: Hector #376, Rhys #395 — Hector higher
Hector stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hector | Rhys |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #672 | — |
| 1890s | #695 | — |
| 1900s | #690 | — |
| 1910s | #607 | — |
| 1920s | #512 | #2980 |
| 1930s | #420 | — |
| 1940s | #385 | #3127 |
| 1950s | #273 | #2667 |
| 1960s | #242 | #2598 |
| 1970s | #192 | #3891 |
| 1980s | #176 | #1931 |
| 1990s | #168 | #1494 |
| 2000s | #187 | #908 |
| 2010s | #292 | #479 |
| 2020s | #376 | #395 |
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.
Rhys
ardor, enthusiasm
The Old Welsh root is usually glossed as ardor or zeal; older reference books sometimes render it more loosely as "fiery" or "rashness", but they are describing the same word.
Ris → Rhys → Rees → Reece → Reese
How it traveled
Rhys comes from Old Welsh Ris and belongs to the oldest layer of Welsh personal names, the kind recorded in medieval genealogies and princely charters. Its most famous medieval bearer was Rhys ap Gruffydd, the Lord Rhys, who ruled Deheubarth in the twelfth century and held the earliest recorded eisteddfod at Cardigan.
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.
Rhys
REESS
Rhymes with peace, not with rice or rise. In Welsh the opening rh is a breathy, voiceless r, but English speakers say it as a plain r and no one in Wales minds.
- Reece — Not a shortening but the anglicized spelling; some families use it as the informal or written-out-for-strangers version.
- Rhysie — A family diminutive heard mainly with small children; rarely used outside the household.
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 name holding steadyHector is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itHector runs 2 syllables, Rhys 1
- a long American recordHector was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Rhys if you want…
- a name on the way upup 8 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesRhys is 1 syllable to Hector's 2
- a newer arrivalRhys entered the US charts in 1929
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.
Rhys
Strengths
- One syllable, one clear sound — once someone has heard it, they can say it.
- The pronunciation is already familiar in the US through the Reese and Reece spellings, so the sound needs no explaining, only the letters.
- Documented in Wales since the early medieval period and continuously in use there ever since.
To consider
- The spelling gets misread on sight — "Rise" and "Riss" are the usual guesses — so he will spell it aloud fairly often. Most people only need telling once.
- Heard rather than seen, it can be taken for Reese, which in the US is given largely to girls. The Rhys spelling itself is used almost entirely for boys.
- There is essentially no short form. A one-syllable name gives nicknames nowhere to go, which suits some families and frustrates others.
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 Rhys 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 Rhys?
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 Rhys each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hector or Rhys — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hector or Rhys?
- Hector, in 2025: Hector ranked #409 with 779 babies; Rhys ranked #410 with 778 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hector or Rhys?
- Rhys. Over the last five years Hector moved down 44 places; Rhys moved up 8 places.
- Which is the older name, Hector or Rhys?
- Hector was already in use when US records began in 1880; Rhys entered the US charts in 1929. On the American record, Hector is the older name.
- How many people are named Hector and Rhys?
- About 97,000 people named Hector are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 14,000 people named Rhys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hectors or Rhyss in the classroom?
- Hector will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rhys 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Hector, Rhys and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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