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Surname Etymology and Meaning of HUGHES

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

The son of Hugh. Aventinus derives Hugh from Hougen, that is, slasher or cutter. Alfred, in the year 900, used Hugh to denote comfort. Hugh in the Gaelic, is Aoidh, which signifies affability, a guest, a stranger. Hu suggests the idea of elevation; Ho, Hu, highness.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).

1. English (also common in Wales): patronymic from the Middle English and Anglo-Norman French personal name Hugh.
2. Welsh: variant of Howells.
3. Irish and Scottish: variant Anglicization of Gaelic Mac Aodha (see McCoy).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)