Hubbard
Masculine
Hubbard is a surname used as a first name, and it is attached to one of the best-selling books of the early nineteenth century: a nursery rhyme about a woman, a dog and an empty cupboard.
How old is the name Hubbard?
Hubbard first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Hubbard alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 200 people named Hubbard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hubbard most popular?
Hubbard peaked in 1889, reaching #673 nationally. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard was published as an illustrated booklet in the early eighteen-hundreds and sold tens of thousands of copies almost immediately, which for the period was extraordinary. The verses are a sequence of absurdities: the woman goes out for something, comes back, and the dog is doing something impossible. It is nonsense of the purest kind, several decades before nonsense became a recognized genre, and it was written by a woman staying at a country house who appears to have produced it to amuse the family. The name is now also a squash, a loose dress, and a small town or two, all of them pointing back at the rhyme.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname comes from a Germanic personal name whose elements are documented. Whether an American Hubbard is named from the surname, the rhyme or something else is not recorded.
Pronouncing Hubbard
HUB-urd
Two syllables with the stress in front. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
Nicknames for Hubbard
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 193021 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #673reached in 1889
- Change vs 1973
- −14.3%6 in 1977, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hubbards among us
people named Hubbard are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Hubbard sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- It sits in the familiar family of surnames Americans use in front position.
- Hub and Bard are both available as short forms and both are real words.
- The nursery rhyme is the first association for anybody who was read to as a child.
- It reads as a surname to nearly everybody, which suits some families and not others.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Hubbard
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Hubbards are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Hubbard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hubbard in 2025?
- Hubbard is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Hubbard with classmates?
- Hubbard will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Henry#5 · Harold#991 · Harry#775 · Howard#1002 · Hunter#130 · Herbert#2641 · Herman#2363 · Harvey#251
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hubbard? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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